


Take me as you please

by RelentlassHuggerSquad



Series: The Story so Far [1]
Category: Professional Wrestling, WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bayley has a bit of a hero complex, Bayley just wants to help, Bayley likes to give hugs, Baysha brotp, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Give Sasha a break 2k19, High School AU, Platonic Soulmates, Ronda is a dickhead, Sasha is hard to love, Sasha is homeless, Sasha needs a hug, Sasha's bio mom is abusive and a dick, Sasha's mom is horrible, Stephanie and Triple H are foster parents of the year, Strangers to Friends, TW: Mentions of Child Abuse, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2020-10-27 21:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 42,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20767538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RelentlassHuggerSquad/pseuds/RelentlassHuggerSquad
Summary: The angsty Baysha High School au nobody asked for.Sasha is homeless and Bayley has decided to take it upon herself to take care of Sasha. Sasha doesn't want to be Bayley's charity case and just wants to survive high school. Bayley is warm and soft, Sasha is prickly, sarcastic and all hard edges. Somehow these two are destined to be in each other's lives, whether Sasha wants to be platonic soul mates or not. Sasha has a lot of demons to fight through and Bayley just wants to help her and hold her through it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AttackPlatypus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AttackPlatypus/gifts).

Many people would have assumed that Sasha Banks was not the type of person to spend a Friday evening at a public library. They would have been wrong of course, in all of Sasha’s sixteen years of life, the high school sophomore found that the library was her safe haven. The library was cool in the summer, warm in the winter and had comfortable chairs. Sure the occasional person Sasha knew from school would come by, but Sasha would just pretend to be reading so she didn’t have to engage in conversation. 

She would go to the library as soon as it opened or when she got out of school and would stay there until closing. Then usually the last one out of the library, she would find a brightly lit park bench and stay there all night. She didn’t really have anywhere else to go, the library was her refuge. 

If anybody else knew Sasha was homeless they didn’t say anything to her face. Sasha made sure to wash her clothes in the bathroom sinks at school before anybody else got there. At school Sasha was snarky and stand-offish, so nobody really bothered to question her, otherwise, she’d verbally rip them to shreds. 

Sasha hadn’t always lived on the streets until the age of nine her life had been somewhat normal. But then her father had lost his job and her mother had fallen into hard drugs to escape the demons in her head. Sasha had been bounced around with her brother Trevor who she affectionately called Ricochet due to his hyperactivity. Thankfully Trevor had been taken into a nice foster family and occasionally Sasha still saw him. That was another reason she liked the library, she would get to see her brother there a couple of times a month. 

The different foster parents and continual disappointment in her actual parents had caused Sasha to grow up fast. Being on her own was a lot easier than having to depend on anybody else. Sasha didn’t want to risk being let down again, not after all the times her mother had sworn she’d get clean and get her back. 

Sasha managed to do well enough in school to keep the teachers off her back. She would collect cans on the weekends and she had learned a method for cheating vending machines so she could get free snacks. The streets had taught her more about life than school had. Sasha had learned how to budget her money, how to make the most out of everything she had. 

That was why she liked the library so much. It was her fortress of solitude, she could get lost in people watching and playing on the internet. Sometimes she’d curl up with a good book or magazine and end up falling asleep. Then after the library would close, she’d walk around the city, never content to stay in one place for too long. 

There were a few other homeless people that looked out for her. They’d pass on clothes, food, toiletries or things that she might need, but Sasha didn’t let them get to close either. She had her walls built up high, trying to focus on her main goal. 

As soon as she graduated high school the dream was to find a job so she would be able to get a place to live and take care of Trevor herself. She liked his foster family but she wanted to be established enough that she could take care of him when he aged out of the system. She was about four years older than him so she had some time to get stuff sorted out. 

At the moment she was scanning the classifieds on the library computer looking for people who might need help with lawn work or odd jobs she could do to supplement her lack of income. It hadn’t escaped Sasha’s mind that she also needed to rack up some volunteer hours from school. Her teacher Mrs. McCool had been hounding Sasha about how good it would look on a college application. 

“Are you trying to get your volunteer hours for the school year?” 

Sasha flinched as she heard a voice right behind her. Slowly she turned in her chair to see who was interrupting her quiet time. A semi-familiar face greeted her with a warm smile. 

Bayley freaking Martinez was standing right behind Sasha, beaming at her. Bayley was many things, student body president, honor student, probably one of the friendliest people at Sasha’s high school. Sasha had witnessed first hand Bayley walking through the halls as if she was Mother Theresa, hugging just about everybody she saw. 

Sasha said nothing, just continued to stare as Bayley stared right back at her. The girl’s smile was too bright and Sasha didn’t think anybody could be that genuinely happy about anything. Slowly Sasha turned back around to face the computer, hoping Bayley would take the hint and leave. 

Of course, Bayley was doing her volunteer hours at the public library, that was just Sasha’s luck. Sasha wanted to roll her eyes, her mind doing a running commentary of how Bayley was probably going to be named the patron saint of reading to illiterate little children. Most of the other workers and volunteers at the library knew to leave Sasha alone, but the homeless teen knew that if Bayley saw her around enough she’d get suspicious. Bayley wasn’t dumb and Sasha wasn’t in the mood to answer the girl’s potential questions. 

“Do you maybe-”

Bayley was talking again, but Sasha was doing her best to tune her out. Sasha focused on her computer screen, booking marking the classified page and sending it to herself in an email. Bayley must have sensed that Sasha was ignoring her because she put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. 

“I know we don’t really know each other, but we could share the volunteer hours here if you want too. Mickie says she sees you around here a lot, so you probably knew where everything is.” Bayley said in a rush to get it all out. "I'm Bayley by the way."

Sasha stared at Bayley’s hand on her arm and then trailed her gaze slowly up to the other teen’s face. “I know who you are. Now, please take your hand off of me,” Sasha said slowly, anger flashing in her eyes. 

Bayley quickly removed her hand as if she had been burned. “Sorry, I forget some people don’t like to be touched at all. So would you like to share the volunteer hours, I am sure the library could use the extra hand. I can talk to Mickie”

“I appreciate you trying to help me, but don’t. I can find my own volunteer hours.” Sasha said coldly, before logging out of the computer and snatching her backpack. Hanging around with Bayley did not sound like Sasha’s idea of fun. Besides Bayley was popular and friendly, she’d draw attention and Sasha was doing her best to try and fly under the school’s radar.

"Okay then." Bayley frowned, not understanding why the girl was being so rude. She took a step back as Sasha all but bolted out of the library. It was then that Bayley noticed Sasha had forgotten what looked to be a green journal, the pages were yellowed and the journal had clearly been used a lot. Bayley picked it up and went to call after the girl, but Sasha was already out the door. 

Sasha's handwriting was small and Bayley flipped open the journal to read it. A piece of her felt guilty for reading something so personal but she was hoping it'd have a clue in it, so she'd know how to return it to Sasha. As she flipped through the pages, she realized most of what was written inside the journal was like a schedule. There were locations and times written down and a few pages in, there was a map. 

Some places were circled with a black marker, some with a red, and some with a green one. Bayley was confused by what it meant until she looked at the legend key Sasha had drawn. Red was for places to avoid. Black was for places that were marked safe. Green was clearly food places and thrift stores. 

The majority of green circles, Bayley knew from her own charity work. They were homeless shelters and food kitchens. It took Bayley a minute to realize why Sasha would have this information, but when Bayley puzzled it out, a deep frown etched itself on her face. 

Sasha was homeless. 

Bayley would have never been able to tell by looking at the girl. Bayley tried to playback all the times she had seen Sasha around the school. The girl could be mean and didn't seem to have many close friends, but there had been no real indication of an issue. Studying the last page with writing, Bayley noted that one of the local soup kitchens was having their monthly dinner. Sasha had circled the words and drew what looked like a doodle of some bread. 

Checking the wall clock, Bayley sighed. She had about thirty minutes left in her volunteer shift, but she was hoping she'd ride her bike over to the soup kitchen and give Sasha back her journal. 

\----

There was something about french bread and spaghetti, it was one of Sasha's favorite meals. The soup kitchen served spaghetti about once a month and Sasha was always there for that specific meeting. She kept to herself and just savored the meal. Other times Sasha would eat her food fast or hoard most of it in a napkin. But she had strong feelings about the noodles and it was the one meal where Sasha would take her time, trying to get the most out of every bite.

She had been in a foul mood after her run-in with Bayley at the library, but now her bad mood was fading. She had just taken another mouthful when somebody tapped her on the shoulder. Putting a protective arm around her plate, she lifted her head only to find her bad mood returning instantly. 

Bayley was once again smiling down at her. "Of all the soup kitchens in the city, I happened to find yours," Bayley commented cheerily. 

Sasha swallowed her mouthful of food, her eyes narrowing in on Bayley. "Are you stalking me now?"

Bayley shook her head and held up Sasha's journal. "You left this in the library."

"You read my journal?" Sasha's voice had taken on a note of fear. "How much of it did you read?" She asked getting upset. 

"Whoa, calm down. I just wanted to give your property back to you." Bayley said, trying to calm the other teenager down. Sasha looked like a cornered animal and Bayley was trying to avoid the girl's wrath. 

Sasha snatched the journal out of her hand. "Thank you for bring it to me." 

"I did read a little bit of your journal," Bayley said quietly. She cleared her throat and shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I didn't realize you were homeless." 

Sasha's eyes locked with Bayley's and slowly Sasha rose to her full height. She was still shorter than Bayley, but it didn't matter. "It's not something I advertise. I would appreciate it if you kept that fact to yourself if you don't..." Sasha trailed off, leaving her threat unspoken. 

She was furious that Bayley had gone through her journal and worried that Bayley would blab about her situation around the school. If she was forced to scare Bayley into silence than so be it. There weren't many things that Sasha held dear, that were just for Sasha and her journal was one of them.

The conversation was not going the way Bayley had hoped or even rehearsed on the way over. She had expected that Sasha might be thankful for the return of her stuff, but instead, the girl had somehow gotten even more prickly. 

"Do you maybe want to come over to my house? It's supposed to rain tonight-" Bayley figured she could pass Sasha off as one of her friends. Despite Sasha's rudeness, Bayley wanted to help her out. She had been imagining what she would be up too if her own life was different. 

"I don't want your pity, Martinez." Sasha snapped, shaking her head. She let out a bitter laugh and picked up her tray of spaghetti, walking towards the trash cans. For the second time that day, Bayley had managed to ruin one of Sasha's places of solitude.

"Come on, I'm just trying to help," Bayley argued frustrated that Sasha kept assuming the worst out of her. 

Sasha dropped her tray in the trash and turned to face Bayley who had followed her. "Listen here, I am not some charity case. I don't want or need your help. I am doing just fine on my own." 

"I can see that." Bayley deadpanned rolling her eyes. "I am not trying to treat you like a charity case. I was just trying to do something nice. Give you a warm place to sleep tonight." 

Sasha laughed bitterly again, wondering how much trouble she would get into if she punched Bayley in the face. She was weighing the pros and cons of the situation when the taller girl stepped forward into her personal space. 

"You could sleep in my treehouse. I hardly use it and it's actually decently sized. There are a lot of old blankets, nobody has to know." Bayley promised, already thinking to her parents. Her mom and dad were friendly enough, but she wasn't sure how they'd react to her bringing home a person instead of the usual stray pet. 

"Oh my god, you don't even actually know me. Do you know how crazy you sound right now?" Sasha asked, marching out of the soup kitchen. She couldn't believe Bayley's nerve or believe that Bayley wanted to try and help her in the first place. They weren't even friends, hardly even acquaintances. 

The sound of footsteps alerted Sasha that Bayley was once again on her trail. Bayley grabbed Sasha by the elbow, turning the shorter girl back around. 

"I'm not crazy, I just happen to care about people. Why are you so against me helping you?" Bayley questioned, wondering what had made Sasha into the person that stood before her. 

Before Sasha could answer the dark even sky above them opened, and it began to rain. Sasha groaned, cursing the fact that she had yet to figure out where she was going to stay that night. Most likely all of her usual warm spots were going to be taken. 

"Fine, I'll stay in your stupid tree house one night. But you better not tell anybody about this or I'll break your face." Sasha warned as she grabbed a fistful of Bayley's shirt. "Do you understand?"

Bayley had to fight to keep from smiling at Sasha's attempt to intimidate her. "I won't tell a soul. Now come on, I for one do not like to be standing in the rain. Now come on." Bayley said flashing a warm smile. 

Sasha followed after Bayley thinking that perhaps the other teenager had a car of some sort. Instead what greeted her was the sight of Bayley getting on a nice bicycle. 

"You've got to be kidding me. You're crazy!" Sasha grumbled as Bayley patted the handlebars. "How do I know you're not going to dump me off. I'd rather walk." 

Bayley shrugged her shoulders not letting Sasha's words faze her. "Be my guest, my house is about a mile from here through, the bicycle might be faster." She said, putting on her helmet. 

Sasha folded her arms stubbornly over her chest and followed Bayley who was having to pedal slowly so Sasha could keep up. Finally, after about ten minutes of walking in the rain, Sasha relented and got up on the handlebars of Bayley's bike. 

Bayley struggled to pedal with the awkwardness of Sasha's body weight on the bars but found a rhythm for her pedaling. Fifteen minutes later they got to Bayley's house. 

"Alright I'll distract my parents, you jump the fence to the backyard. Hide in the treehouse and I'll bring you a pillow and some pajamas." Bayley directed, feeling almost like a secret agent. She had never been much of a rule-breaker so doing something sneaky excited her. 

Sasha did roll her eyes this time but waited until Bayley had entered the house before hopping the back fence. She found the treehouse easily enough, it was bigger than Sasha had expected. Big enough that Sasha could actually stretch out comfortably on the floor. 

Bayley had clearly gone through different phases because there were old Disney channel posters and some hello kitty stickers on the walls. Sasha filed that information away for later in case she needed some blackmail on Bayley. She saw a picture of a younger Bayley with a blonde girl hamming it up for the camera thumbtacked to the wall. Sasha picked up the picture studying the happy look in the girl's eyes.

Truth be told Sasha wasn't sure why she had allowed herself to go to Bayley's house. She couldn't really stand the girl, Bayley seemed rather pretentious at school. Sasha didn't believe that anybody could be that friendly or kind without an ulterior motive. Sasha figured she would just stay the night in the treehouse until the storm broke and then she'd be out before Bayley got up for school in the morning. She didn't want to give Bayley any leverage over her. 

Sasha was interrupted from her thoughts when the floor hatch was pushed open. A rainsoaked Bayley appeared with an arm full of blankets. 

"I brought you some extras just in case you got cold. Here are some warm PJs." Bayley said pushing the items into Sasha's arms. 

"Thanks," Sasha mumbled, unable to deny how warm and soft the blankets felt. She laid them on the ground, slinging her backpack into the corner. 

Bayley watched her for a moment and then cleared her throat. "Well, I'll see you in the morning then." 

Sasha was confused by Bayley's actions but said nothing. She waited until she heard the backdoor to Bayley's house shut before she shed the wet clothes she had been wearing. Putting on the pajamas Bayley loaned her, Sasha had to roll the sleeves and pant legs. 

Making herself a pallet on the floor, Sasha cuddled into the blankets. They all smelled distinctly like Bayley's laundry detergent, but Sasha didn't mind. She actually liked the smell of tide, it reminded her of when she used to fold laundry with her dad. Sasha felt her heart tighten at the memory, she pushed it away not wanting to dwell. 

Soon enough sleep came for Sasha and for the first time in a long time, she slept soundly and warm.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bayley has this need to prove to Sasha that she's genuine. Ft warm smiles, friends who throw pudding cups to defend you and grilled cheeses sandwiches. Also Sasha is still prickly but maybe there is just the slightest hint of a crack in her ice armor.

Sasha couldn’t remember the last time she had woken up warm. For a moment she had forgotten where she was and panic coursed through her. She sat up abruptly, fearful eyes scanning her surroundings as the sunlight was starting to peek through the window of the treehouse. 

She glanced out the window and sighed. She wasn’t really sure what time it was, but it seemed like now was as good a time as any to get the heck out Bayley’s backyard. It wasn’t that Sasha didn’t appreciate Bayley allowing her to stay, but she didn’t trust the girl as far as she could throw her. Carefully Sasha folded the blankets, got dressed in her own clothes and then grabbed her backpack. Her stomach growled painfully as she descended from the treehouse. 

She made it to the front gate when it swung open to reveal a freshly showered Bayley. Bayley looked surprised to see Sasha but then smiled and held out a muffin. 

“What’s this?” Sasha asked, staring at the muffin.

“I was worried you had already left, but I got you a blueberry muffin just in case,” Bayley said, far too cheerful for somebody who was up this early. 

Sasha carefully took the muffin and put it in her backpack. She didn’t want Bayley to be there when she devoured it. “Thank you,” Sasha said, before moving past Bayley to start walking to school. 

“Do you want a ride?” Bayley asked, trudging after Sasha. “Oh, or maybe we could walk to school together.” 

Sasha tried to school her features into a neutral expression. Hanging out with Bayley, despite the girl’s hospitality, was not high on her list of things to do. “If we randomly start hanging out together, it’s going to be weird.” 

Bayley frowned and shrugged. “So what, I make new friends all the time.”

“We’re not friends,” Sasha said coldly, folding her arms over her chest. “I appreciate you letting me spend the night in your treehouse, but that doesn’t make us friends. I told you, I’m not some charity case you can use to make yourself feel better.” 

Bayley recoiled like she had been slapped and stopped walking. The smile that she had been wearing dimmed considerably and Sasha almost felt sorry for what she had said. 

_ Almost. _

Sasha picked up her pace wanting to put some distance between her and Bayley. The teenager just wanted to grab a shower in the girl’s locker room and pray that her day would go back to normal. Forcing the guilt and shame she felt at being rude to Bayley to the back of her mind, she made it to school in record time. 

If Sasha thought her day was going to get better, she was sadly mistaken. Her day quickly went from bad to worse when she was in line to get a free lunch from the cafeteria and one of the more popular girls bumped into her. 

Sasha hated Ronda Rousey, the girl was athletic to be sure but a total jerk. Ronda though just because she was a junior olympian everybody should bow to her. Sasha did her best to avoid Ronda and her posse of followers, but today it seemed Ronda was spoiling for a fight. 

“Watch where you’re going,” Ronda said, shoving Sasha back roughly. One of Ronda’s cronies stuck out her foot, causing Sasha to trip and drop her tray. The contents of Sasha’s meal splattered all over her shirt and the ground. 

Embarrassment burned through Sasha, but so did regret. She tried to shove down the anger she felt, wanting nothing more than to lash out. However, getting into a fight against Ronda and her goons was not in Sasha’s best interest. Sasha wanted to avoid drawing attention and getting jumped. 

Sasha reached out to grab her fruit cup, the only thing that hadn’t been totally wrecked from being tripped. It wasn't much, but it was better than going hungry. But as her hand reached the cup, Ronda stepped on Sasha’s wrist pinning it down. 

“Mhm, I think I’ll be taking this,” Ronda said, taking it away from Sasha. Keeping Sasha’s hand pinned to the ground, Ronda opened the fruit cup took a single bite. Ronda savored the bite, before giving an evil smirk and promptly throwing it away. “It didn’t taste good at all, you should be thanking me. Say thank you, Ronda.” 

Tears of frustration pricked the corner of Sasha’s eyes, but she refused to cry. The more she tried to free her hand, the more pressure Ronda applied. 

“Thank you, Ronda,” Sasha mumbled, unable to look at the girl. She just wanted it to all be over with. She was so hungry and now really wasn’t sure where her next meal was coming from. 

“Speak up, I couldn’t hear you,” Ronda demanded, loud enough to draw the attention of more students who were laughing at Sasha.

Then all at once a chocolate pudding cup sailed through the air and hit Ronda right in the face. Sasha stared up at her tormentor stunned and while Ronda was distracted roughly pulled her hand free and kicked Ronda as hard as she could in the knee. 

Sasha didn’t stay behind long enough to see what happened next, instead choosing that moment to run away as fast as she could. She wasn’t sure who threw the pudding cup, but she was thankful. 

Sasha’s wrist was bruised and marked up from Ronda’s custom shoe, but she didn’t think her bone was broken. The bruise looked angry though and Sasha ducked out of her last to classes to get it checked out by the nurse. 

It was about twenty minutes before the final bell rang that Bayley slowly walked into the nurse's office. She was clutching her side but had a sly smile on her face still. She quit the stomach pain act the moment she laid eyes on Sasha.

"What are you doing here?" Sasha snapped, ignoring the dirty look the nurse gave her. 

Bayley shrugged and sat down next to her. "I was having really bad cramps." She said, gingerly moving so she could face Sasha. "What happened to your wrist?"

Sasha scowled and glared down at the ground. "I fell." She muttered, hoping Bayley would settle for a half-truth. 

"You fell and Ronda just happened to stand on your wrist right? That boot print looks a lot like Ronda's custom Nikes." Bayley said nodding to the small 'RR' impression. 

"What can I say, she likes to stand on the back of greatness." Sasha deadpanned, flinching when Bayley touched her wrist. "Stop it hurts," Sasha whined. 

Bayley moved her hand back and frowned. "You should tell on her for being a bully." 

"Snitches get stitches, Bayley. Life isn't some fairytale. If I snitch on her it'll just get worse for me. If I'm lucky she'll forget about me and move onto somebody else." Sasha said before sighing. 

She let her head fall back against the wall, a headache brewing from lack of eating. She was already lost in her own thoughts again, trying to figure out how she was going to get the food stains out of her clothes. Sasha was used to being dealt crappy hands, but she wished for once that something could go her way. 

Bayley was silent for a long time, before slowly unzipping her backpack. She handed Sasha a pudding cup with a sheepish smile. "Here you can have this one. My mom normally packs me too." 

Sasha glanced from the pudding cup and then back to Bayley. The pudding cup was the same brand as the one that had hit Ronda in the face. "You didn't-"

Bayley cracked the smallest of smiles. "You said we weren't friends right? Why would I throw my pudding cup for somebody who isn't my friend?" She winked at Sasha before she stood up. The bell rang and Bayley gave a soft sigh. "I'll see you around Banks." 

Sasha sat there stunned for a minute, unable to process the fact that Bayley had come to her aid again. She still didn't trust Bayley, but she now had a bigger measure of respect for the side ponytail wearing teen. Maybe she had slightly underestimated the girl's intentions. Bayley interfering with Ronda had saved Sasha from getting hurt worse and for that the homeless teen was thankful. 

\-----

Bayley was halfway home before Sasha caught up with her. Bayley kept walking, letting Sasha fall into step with her. She could feel the shorter girl’s eyes burning a hole into the side of her head. Still, Bayley said nothing, choosing to allow Sasha to come with her. If it worked with feral animals maybe it would work for Sasha. 

“I don’t know why you threw the pudding cup. I didn’t ask you to save me.” Sasha said after a long moment. She was studying Bayley like the girl had a second head. 

Bayley met her gaze head-on and shrugged. “You didn’t have to ask me. Ronda shouldn’t have messed with you.” 

Sasha blinked as if she couldn’t believe the words coming out of Bayley’s mouth. “Why do you care if Ronda messes with me?”

A heavy sigh escaped Bayley. “You have enough crap going on in your life, you don’t need it at school too.” 

“Look, I don’t need your help,” Sasha said defensively, still unsure if she could truly trust Bayley. 

Bayley pinched the bridge of her nose, wondering what she was going to have to do to win some of Sasha’s trust. “You don’t need my help, but it’s still there if you want it. If you come back with me to my house we can wash your shirt, you’ll have a quiet place to do your homework.” Bayley offered, leaving the ball in Sasha’s court. 

Sasha was weighing her options before she nodded. “Fine, I’ll come with you. But only long enough to clean my shirt, then I’m leaving.”

Bayley nodded slowly, deciding not to press her luck. “That’s fine Sash.”

If Sasha had any particular feelings towards Bayley giving her a nickname, she said nothing about it. Sasha’s mind was still going a million miles a minute, trying to figure out Bayley’s motivations for helping her. 

As they made their way into Bayley’s house, Sasha found herself in awe of all the pictures and things Bayley owned. It was a nice two-story house, with more stuff in it than Sasha had ever seen. Bayley led her up the stairs and into what could only be Bayley’s room. 

The room itself had been painted a light blue with various band posters and awards on the walls. Once more there were pictures of Bayley with the blonde chick from the treehouse picture. 

“Is she your girlfriend?” Sasha asked, unable to keep the words from spilling. 

Bayley looked confused and then followed Sasha’s gaze to the picture. “No, that’s not my girlfriend. That’s my best friend Charlotte. She moved away last year but I’m hoping she moves back soon.”

Sasha nodded slowly, before folding her arms over her chest. She was feeling uncomfortable again. “Is it okay if I wash my other clothes too?” Sasha asked, unable to look Bayley in the eye. 

“Sure, you can borrow some clothes while you wait for yours to wash and dry,” Bayley explained, rummaging through her drawers until she pulled out an old soccer jersey and some shorts. “You can change in my bathroom,” Bayley said nodding to the personal bathroom attached to her room. 

“Okay.” Sasha took Bayley’s clothes and fled to the bathroom. She hated the fact that she needed to use any of Bayley’s stuff, she hated relying on other people. Sasha took a few minutes to not only change but to wash her hands and her face. Being clean made her feel human and almost normal again. 

When Sasha exited the bathroom she was surprised to find Bayley laying down on her bed doing some school reading. Sasha wasn’t sure what to make of her at first. “Thank you for helping me.”

“You’re welcome,” Bayley said brightly before she moved over. “Come on, you can do your homework on my bed.”

Sasha felt uncomfortable being in Bayley’s bubble space, she rarely liked to even be hugged but she found herself sitting down next to Bayley. It was getting harder and harder to be mean to Bayley but Sasha was still trying to keep her walls up so she didn’t get hurt. 

It was weird to Sasha how soft Bayley's bed was, it felt like it was sucking her in. She tried to focus on reading, but eventually, she ended up falling asleep. When she did wake up, she was by herself in Bayley's room. 

One glance at the clock told her she had been asleep for almost three hours. Sasha shot out of the bed, almost in a panic. Maybe if she hurried and grabbed her stuff, she would still be able to find a warm spot to sleep for the night. She rushed out of Bayley's room and down the stairs, trying to find the exit. 

Bayley who had heard Sasha coming down the stairs poked her head out of the kitchen. "Hey sleepyhead, we're in here." 

Sasha raised an eyebrow but followed the sound of Bayley's voice. "I was just going to head out." She stepped into the kitchen, her eyes traveling from Bayley to an older looking woman. 

"Sasha this my Abuelita," Bayley said nodding to the woman. "My parents got called away for a conference so she's the one taking care of me." 

"Um, it's nice to meet you. I should really go Bayley, can you just bring me my clothes tomorrow." Sasha said already backing away from Bayley's grandmother. 

Bayley's grandmother mumbled something in rapid-fire Spanish to Bayley and then held up a bony finger towards Sasha. "You're too skinny, eat with us." 

"I don't want to impose," Sasha said trying to back out of the room.

"You aren't imposing. My grandma made some grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. We have more than enough." Bayley said stepping towards Sasha as one might move towards a scared cat. 

Sasha's stomach betrayed her with a growl. "Alright, but just because I can't say no to a grilled cheese sandwich." 

"Excellent," Bayley said clapping her hands together. She turned back to her grandmother and replied to the woman in Spanish before gesturing to Sasha to take a seat at the table. 

It had been a long time since Sasha had eaten dinner in a family setting. She was quiet throughout the meal, her mind drifting to a happier time in her life when her family was still together. 

"Sasha, my grandma wants to know if you'd like to spend the night." 

Bayley's voice cut through Sasha's haze, bringing the girl back to the present. Bayley and her grandma were staring at Sasha expectantly, waiting for an answer. 

"I should really get ho-." Sasha's voice cracked on the word home. She didn't have a home, she merely had places that were safer than others. If home was where the heart was, then Sasha figured the closest thing she had was where her brother was staying. 

Bayley met her gaze, her soft expression saying it all. "Please? Just for tonight. Abuelita and I like to stay up and watch Disney movies, it's more fun with friends."

Sasha was so drained, emotionally and physically that she didn't have the heart to keep pushing Bayley away. She still didn't trust her completely, but sleeping in a home with a bed was a lot better than on the streets or in a treehouse. 

"Just for tonight." Sasha relented. 

Bayley beamed at her, the warmest of smiles crossing the taller girl's face. Sasha wasn't sure why Bayley looked like she had won the lottery, but she pushed that thought away when Bayley's grandma offered her another grilled cheese sandwich. 

Maybe grilled cheese sandwiches, warm smiles and a friend who threw pudding cups for her weren’t such bad things to let into her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not going to lie, the response to this story has been amazing. I wasn't sure if anybody was really going to like it, but I am so glad that everybody has enjoyed it so far. 
> 
> Please be sure to subscribe, leave comments, kudos, whatever you want. I love hearing everybody's reaction to the story, what they liked and what they felt was the best line. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my little story. 
> 
> I appreciate you all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ronda keeps being a douche nozzle and Bayley is doing her best to soothe Sasha's rough edges.

Sasha Banks found herself in the public library once more, but this time she wasn’t alone. She actually hadn’t been by herself in a few weeks. Despite Sasha’s reservations, Bayley had spent the past three weeks not far from her side. It was a slow going but inch by inch, Bayley kept worming her way into Sasha's daily routine and life.

Trying to push Bayley away hadn’t worked so well and if Sasha was being totally honest, having Bayley around made her feel safe. They did their homework together, Bayley was always sneaking her food and had made the backyard treehouse a sort of temporary home for Sasha. 

There were still moments of miscommunication and frustration, but Sasha was slowly starting to warm up to her new friend. Which was why when Bayley invited Sasha to her family’s neighborhood block party and bbq, Sasha actually considered it. Before she would have outright rejected the offer, but now she actually thought it through.

Food was always good and Sasha couldn’t recall the last time she had been invited to a barbeque. Being around Bayley’s parents was still awkward, but they were friendly enough despite working long hours. Sasha had even grown a little fond of Bayley’s Abuelita who always gave her candy and patted her hand. Usually, Sasha hated physical contact, but the warmth in the old woman's eyes melted the ice around Sasha's heart. Bayley had the same warm eyes that her grandmother did, that was something Sasha had noticed. 

“Come on Sash, it’ll be fun. We might even get to swim in the pool next door.” Bayley loved the monthly neighborhood block parties and barbeques. She gave Sasha her most winningest smile, trying to convince her friend to come. 

“Would I be able to bring my brother?” Sasha asked, knowing that Trevor wouldn’t take kindly to being blown off.

Bayley nodded and smiled. “Sure, there are always fun things to do in the neighborhood. He’s more than welcome.” Bayley said. 

Sasha had been hesitant to introduce Bayley to her brother, but a week prior she had finally worked up the courage. Of course, Bayley and Trevor had bonded right away, the two had similar energy about them. Trevor had asked to see Bayley again because Sasha’s friend had promised to help him find books about video games and superheroes in the library. 

"Trevor has been asking to see you," Sasha said, trying not to be bitter about the fact that Trevor seemed to like Bayley more. 

Bayley lit up at the words. "Awh well tell the little man I'll see him too. He has good taste in video games and heroes." 

Sasha nodded slowly. "I'll let him know. I have to clear it with his foster mom before I tell him. I don't want to get his hopes up only for her to say no." 

"Does she say no a lot?" Bayley asked quietly, not sure how far Sasha would allow her to press before shutting down. Personal conversations were usually landmines, Bayley had learned to walk on eggshells with personal topics. 

"She has boundaries and limits for him, but that's good. Ricochet needs stability, God knows he won't get it from our parents. He is safe with her and so I am willing to abide by the rules she sets down." Sasha said, shrugging. She had a lot of respect for Ricochet's foster mother. 

Bayley nodded to Sasha and then resumed her current mission of shelving books. The library staff was pretty chill about her spending time talking to Sasha but she still had work to do for her volunteer hours. 

Sasha was all too happy to go back to listening to music. Bayley had loaned her an iPod with some new music, and it was like Christmas to the other teen. Sasha would just lay in a beanbag chair, close her eyes and listen to the music while Bayley worked. 

It was in these moments that Bayley got to really study Sasha. The worry lines and tough facade would drop and Sasha would seem almost serene. It was a beautiful sight, one that almost broke Bayley’s heart. The deeper her friendship with Sasha evolved, the more she realized how truly fragile the homeless teen was. 

\-----

Sasha had a love-hate relationship with PE. She loved the thrill of being active, the burning ache in her muscles, she hated the people in her PE class. They were doing a water unit, in which they were supposed to be swimming. Sasha had lied and said she cramps so she could get out of it. So she was walking laps on the outside of the pool. She hadn't wanted to tell the coach that she didn't actually own a swimsuit. Surely she could have bought one from a thrift store, but it had no real practical value to her. It was just another article of clothing she'd have to lug around. 

Another reason she hated PE was also that it was her last class of the day. It felt like torture waiting for the final bell to ring so she could leave and get out of there. Her PE coach Mr. Dreamer was pretty nice, he usually left Sasha alone because she kept her head down. He even allowed her to listen to the old iPod Bayley had loaned her. 

It was probably one of the nicest things that Sasha had in her possession. Bayley had even put some of her favorite songs on there. It was soothing and Sasha really treasured it. She was listening to one of the new songs when the biggest reason she hated PE stepped in front of her. 

Ronda Rousey towered in front of Sasha, her cronies flanking her like normal, minus Shayna who was off distracting Mr. Dreamer. Sasha tried to step around the group, but Ronda stepped with her, continuing to block the path. 

Slowly Sasha lowered the earbuds out of her ears, forcing herself to meet Ronda's eyes. "Is there something wrong Rousey?"

"Nice iPod, where did you get that antique?" Ronda asked, an icy tint to her tone. She reached for the iPod, scowling when Sasha stepped back. "Don't do that, I just want to see." Ronda nodded to her posse who seized Sasha by the arms and ripped the iPod away from her. 

"Please..." Sasha wasn't even sure what she was begging for. She didn't want Ronda to ruin her iPod, which wasn't even technically hers. "It's not mine, it's my friends. Please don't break it." 

Ronda snorted and rolled her eyes. "What friend could you possibly have?" 

"It's Bayley's, please give it back. I don't want trouble." Sasha said reaching a hand out to grab it. 

Sasha was greeted with a punch to the gut that doubled her over. She wheezed as Ronda condescendingly grabbed her face, forcing her to make eye contact. 

"You see Sasha that's not the answer I was hoping for. I heard from a little birdie that your friend Bayley was the one who threw that pudding cup. I haven't forgotten that you kicked me either, so I'm going to make us even." Ronda announced, before taking the iPod and launching it into the deep end of the pool. "Oops." 

Sasha watched horror-struck as the device sunk to the bottom. The pain that filled her chest was worse than being punched. Ronda patted her head, ruffling her hair before laughing and walking away. 

Sasha wanted to cry but didn't want to give them the satisfaction. She waited for the bell to ring before jumping into the pool to rescue the destroyed device. She wasn't sure what she was going to say to Bayley, she had a feeling the other teen was going to be pissed at her for ruining it. 

Pulling herself back out of the water, Sasha found Bayley waiting for her by the gate entrance. Bayley was wearing a look of concern and raised a brow when she saw a dripping and shivering Sasha. 

"What happened?" Bayley asked, shrugging off her jacket to offer to Sasha. 

"Ronda...she threw it in the deep end. I'm so sorry Bayley, I tried to stop her." Sasha couldn't even look Bayley in the eyes. She felt so embarrassed and ashamed. Every piece of her seemed to loathe Ronda intensely. "I'll try and save up money to buy you a new one." 

Bayley was silent for so long Sasha though the girl might not talk to her again. Bayley's hands had balled into a fist at her side, but it wasn't because she was angry at Sasha. No, she was furious at Ronda and didn't trust herself not to launch into a tirade. Instead, Bayley opened her arms and hugged Sasha close, not even caring that her own clothes were getting wet. 

"Are you mad at me?" Sasha asked slowly, tense in Bayley's arms. 

Bayley shook her head and brushed some of Sasha's wet hair out of her eyes. "No, I am not mad at you Sash. I'm made at Ronda. Don't even worry about the iPod." Bayley hugged her tighter before letting go. "Come on, we're going back to my house. We'll change clothes and maybe put on a movie. I don't feel like the library today, you can help me plan our outfits for the block party this Saturday." 

Sasha sniffled, she had expected Bayley to be angry with her, but Bayley if anything just seemed more determined to comfort her. "Thank you Bay." 

Bayley gave her hand a gentle squeeze, trying to comfort her friend. "It'll be okay. Is Ricochet going to come to the party?"

Sasha smiled despite herself. "Yeah, his foster mom okayed it. He'll be there." 

“Let’s focus on that then, we’re not going to let Ronda Rousey ruin our weekend.” Bayley decided, directing Sasha to where she had parked the bicycle. Sasha no longer complained about sitting on the handlebars, she had gotten used to it. 

Bayley carefully pedaled them back to her house where she knew her grandma would be the one spending the night. Her parents had some sort of charity gala or whatever usual stuff they got up too. Bayley knew she'd find whatever the event was on the calendar but she didn't care to look. Them being gone meant that her grandma would let Sasha stay in the house instead of in the treehouse. 

When the duo arrived at the house, Bayley's Abuelita was waiting for them. A concerned look filtered over the woman's face as she saw that Sasha was still soaked to the bone. She placed a kindly hand on Sasha's cheek, studying her in a way that had Sasha squirming. 

Bayley's grandma mumbled something to her in Spanish and Sasha quickly glanced at her friend hoping for a translation. 

"My grandma says you need to get out of your wet clothes. She wants you to go take a shower while she makes you some hot chocolate." Bayley said glancing at Sasha. She gave her a little nudge towards the house. "I'll be up in a minute with some dry clothes."

Though Bayley's clothes were often too big for Sasha, she didn't mind loaning them to the shorter girl. It was kind of cute seeing Sasha padding around the house in one of Bayley's shirts and sweatpants. It made her heart clench because it allowed her to see a softer Sasha, one without all the walls and hard edges. 

Watching Sasha reluctantly tread into the house, Bayley shifted her attention back to her grandma. The two of the resuming their conversation in Spanish. 

"What happened to her today?" There was a fire in the normally kind eyes of the older woman. 

"The bully girl again. She keeps picking on Sasha." Bayley sighed and pushed her bike into the garage. She hated that Ronda kept going after Sasha, but there wasn't much she could do in the way of trying to get Ronda to stop. Anything she'd do was most likely going to backfire on her friend and she didn't want that.

A disgusted sigh came from Bayley's grandmother. "Does she get picked on because she's homeless?"

Bayley froze, she hadn't told anybody else about Sasha being homeless. "What are you talking about?"

"Little one, I am old, not blind. Same recognizes the same, I was her once, I know more than most about how hard life can be. I won't tell anybody else, but your friend deserves better than a treehouse. I have an extra room at my house." A softness had now entered the woman's tone. She was speaking of Sasha the same way she spoke of Bayley's other cousins, like family. 

Shifting her weight awkwardly from foot to foot, Bayley thought about it. She wanted to run upstairs and tell Sasha, but she also didn't want to spook her. Sasha was more than likely to bolt if she found out anybody else knew about her being homeless, the girl was extremely sensitive over the fact. 

"I will talk to her, but it'll take some time." Bayley finally answered. 

She gave her grandma a kiss on the cheek before going inside. After fixing Sasha some hot chocolate with extra whipped-cream, she carried upstairs. Sasha was waiting in Bayley's room, freshly showered and wearing one of Bayley's jackets and some sweatpants. Greeting Bayley with a tentative smile she nodded to the hot chocolate.

"Is that for me?"

Bayley nodded and offered her friend the warm drink. "Careful it's a little hot." 

Sasha gratefully took it and sighed again. "I'm sorry for the iPod, I'll save up and get you a new one." She said turning away from Bayley as she took a tiny sip. Sasha was doing what she normally did in Bayley's room, study her appearance and think about how much of a faker she felt like in her friend's clothes and room. All of the luxury and warmth reminded Sasha that she really didn't belong there. 

Bayley frowned and moved behind her, carefully looping her arms around her best friend's waist and dropping her chin on the girl's shoulder. "Sash, I mean it, don't worry about the iPod. It's not a big deal okay? All I care about is that you're safe. I'd rather have my best friend safe and healthy then have some old iPod."

"But you worked so hard on making me the playlist, and I really treasured it," Sasha mumbled, tears starting to fall. She didn't understand why Bayley was being so unphased by it. "You're supposed to be angry at me Bay."

"Sasha..." Bayley gently took the cup from her friend's hand and set it down, before turning her friend to face her. Holding Sasha's hands in her own, she gave her a tender smile. "I'll make you another playlist okay? It's not that big of a deal, it's gonna be okay." 

Sasha trembled against her, her emotions welling up under the surface. When Bayley lifted a hand to wipe away her tears, Sasha flinched. 

"Hey come on, don't shut me out." Bayley pleaded, tugging her best friend to her chest and holding her. "We'll handle Ronda, but for now drink your hot chocolate and maybe after we can do our homework. My Abuelita is making dinner and wants you to stay, she'll be hurt if you don't."

"I'll stay, but only because I like her cooking," Sasha mumbled against Bayley's shirt with a watery laugh. 

Sasha was still upset, but she was trying to take Bayley's advice to heart. As hard as it was to just let the Ronda thing go, Sasha felt like she needed to focus on the block party the next day and seeing her brother. Trevor was counting on her get her crap together and make something out of herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to my bro Vegas. Because he deserves all the best birthday wishes and also because he is the Bayley of all friendships. Less than three you broseph. 
> 
> How much are we hating Ronda guys? She is totally a reason Sasha can't have nice things. What's been your favorite part, who's your favorite character? What would you all like to see happen in the story? Be sure to bookmark, subscribe, leave kudos and comments. It's what every author wants and needs in terms of validation.
> 
> Also sorry for the delay, been on vacation the past few weeks. When I get home I'm also going to have more work to do, but I promise to write and update when I can. Adulting is busy work sometimes, that's for sure.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things at the block party bbq don't go so well for Sasha.

The neighborhood barbeque was supposed to be peaceful, but Bayley could sense trouble over the smell of hotdogs grilling. Bayley wasn’t sure if it was nerves causing Sasha to be so tense or if there was something truly bothering the other girl. Bayley’s parents had kept her busy, having her running around and setting things up, so she hadn’t really had much of a chance to talk to Sasha. But from the girl’s rigid poster and the way she was staying close to Trevor and his foster mom Molly, Bayley could tell something was up. 

Eventually, when Bayley finally got excused she made her way over to the table, she found Sasha in the midst of a deeply heated discussion with Molly. 

“Did you tell him he can’t hang out with Travis? I don’t trust that crew, they’re going to get Ricochet into trouble.” Sasha said, casting a worried glance at Trevor who wouldn’t meet her eyes. 

The older woman sighed. “I’m doing my best but I can’t stop him from having friends. That’s the older peer mentor he got.” 

“Well, he needs a new one,” Sasha said briskly. 

“What is going on?” Bayley asked quietly as she walked over. She placed a comforting hand on Sasha’s shoulder, but her friend didn’t relax. 

It was Trevor who answered Bayley’s question. “Sasha isn’t happy about my peer mentor Travis Browne. She thinks he is bad news, but he’s cool. I could be popular by hanging out with him. I don’t know why Sasha is trying to mother me, she’s not my mom.” Ricochet grumbled. He shot to his feet and stormed away from the table. 

Bayley frowned as she felt Sasha sag underneath her touch. Bayley knew very well who Travis was, he was dating Ronda Rousey. “I am sorry Sasha, he doesn’t mean it.”

Sasha shook her head. “He does mean it, otherwise he wouldn’t have said it.” She gave an apologetic look to Ricochet’s foster mom. “Travis’ girlfriend is a bully, they are not a good influence for him.” 

The woman frowned and nodded. “I’ll talk to him, but you know how stubborn he can be.” She said before getting up to follow after Ricochet.

Sasha waited until she was alone with Bayley before she buried her face in her hands. This wasn't how she wanted things to go, she wanted to have fun.

Bayley sat down next to Sasha at the little picnic table and just let Sasha have a moment to process everything. If Bayley had learned anything from their friendship, it was that she had to let Sasha process important things on her own. 

Sasha seemed determined to sulk and Bayley allowed her to do that, but only for a little bit. Bayley decided to eventually go and grab them some food and slid Sasha a plate. 

"I know you're upset but you need to eat," Bayley said firmly. 

"Bayley I don't feel hungry," Sasha said with a sigh. She lifted her head, but couldn't help the smile that twitched at the corner of her lips. Bayley had arranged the food in Sasha's plate to look like a smiley face. There were orange slices for the eyes, a hot dog for the mouth and a cupcake in the middle for a nose. 

"Do you like it?" Bayley asked, trying not to sound as hopeful as she felt. She really hated seeing Sasha sad, it made Bayley's heart hurt in a very uncomfortable way. 

Sasha let out a sigh, but this one was more of a dramatic one. "You just can't let me stay sad can you?"

"Nope!" Bayley said shaking her head. 

"Yes, Bayley. I do like the smiley face, it made me smile." Sasha finally allowed. She appreciated everything that Bayley was trying to do for her. It wasn't lost on her that Bayley kept going out of her way and Sasha knew that she was pretty lucky to have the girl as her friend. 

"Do you want to go jump on the trampoline in the back yard?" Bayley asked.

She knew it was a kid-like thing to go, but she was hoping that it would make Sasha smile again. Bayley couldn't recall the last time she had witnessed Sasha getting to do carefree things. Not that she would ever ask her about it, but she had a feeling that Sasha never really got much of a childhood. Maybe it was silly but Bayley wanted to correct that and make her friend's life a little easier. 

Sasha shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, why not." It was a better option then just sulking around because of her brother. She followed Bayley to the trampoline and began to jump on it with her. 

Bayley could still tell that Sasha was lost in her thoughts, so she tackled her friend down to the mat. Sasha looked startled but before she could say anything, Bayley began relentlessly tickling her. Sasha laughed and squirmed, trying to get away from the taller teenager. 

"Do you give up?" Bayley asked as she stalled her playful assault.

"You're a pain in my neck," Sasha grumbled but nodded. She wasn't even angry about it, she knew Bayley was just trying to help her think about something else. Truth be told, Sasha actually appreciated the distraction. 

"It's why you keep me around though." Bayley gave a smug smile and stuck her tongue out at Sasha, before getting off of her. She collapsed next to the other teen and glanced up at the clouds. "We'll help your brother, don't worry about it."

Sasha gave a heavy sigh. "I just don't want Ronda or her goons getting into his head. I don't think I could handle her turning him against me." 

Bayley stole a look at her friend, her heart was breaking for the girl. "I wish I could make it better for you Sasha. I am sorry life dealt you a crappy hand, but I promise I'll do everything I can to look out for you and your brother." 

Sasha wanted to argue that it wasn't Bayley's duty to help her, but she found herself to emotionally tired to do so. Being around Bayley and the girl's family felt like the only time she could truly find rest. Sasha was exhausted from trying to fight all the battles on her own. She hated to admit it, but she did need Bayley's help. It felt nice to be cared for and taken care of. To know at least one person outside of her brother actually cared about her. 

The pair fell silent for a while, both of them again lost in their own thoughts. Sasha didn’t usually talk about her family outside of Trevor, but she felt like she could maybe share a little bit with Bayley.

“I haven’t seen my dad in over two years, and last time I saw my mom was last Christmas,” Sasha said, knowing it would be a random conversation, but she didn’t doubt that Bayley would hear her out. 

If Bayley had any issue with Sasha randomly talking about her family, she said nothing about it. She merely rolled on her side to face Sasha. 

“Mom was in some rehab, she swore she was getting clean. It’s what she always says. My dad-” Sasha broke off with a watery laugh, and just shook her head. “My dad told me he would be finding a new job in Boston. That he’d come back and get us when he found work. He isn’t coming back.” 

Sasha began to laugh harder, so hard in fact that she didn’t even realize she was crying until she felt Bayley wiping away her tears. Still, Bayley said nothing, she just stared back at her with a look of understanding. 

“It’s stupid you know, to hope that I wake up and find that this somehow has been a sick dream. Do you want to know what the worst part is? Trevor still asks when they’re coming to get him, I don’t have the heart to tell him that they won’t. How do you tell your kid brother that your mom prefers getting high over being an actual mother?” Sasha could feel her anger welling up again, boiling just underneath the surface,

Bayley sat up then and for a moment Sasha thought her friend was going to leave her alone on the trampoline. Instead, Bayley simply pulled Sasha into her lap and just held her friend. A torrent of emotion washed through the homeless teenager as she broke apart in Bayley’s embrace. Bayley just kept stroking her hair and whispering soft words of encouragement promises that she would always be there for Sasha and not leave. 

"I don't know what it's like to be you Sasha, but I want you to know you're not alone. You never have to be alone again. I'll be your family." Bayley promised as she cupped Sasha's chin and forcing the girl to look her in the eyes. "Best friends forever, no take-backs."

Sasha swallowed hard and met Bayley's gaze. "Best friends forever." She repeated. She hurriedly wiped at her eyes and frowned when she realized she had left tear stains on Bayley's shirt. "Do you want to go back to the barbeque?"

Bayley shook her head. "No, not really. I'm not in much of a party mood. Tell you what, why don't we just go back to my place. We'll build a fort, and if we find your brother he can watch movies with us until he has to leave."

"I think he might like that," Sasha said, appreciating that Bayley was giving her an out so that she didn't have to interact with the rest of Bayley's neighbors. She would have done it for Bayley but she didn't truly feel like it. If anything, Sasha felt really raw and exposed, so she appreciated Bayley for being aware. 

"Go get him and then meet me at my house. We'll watch TV in the living room and you can spend the night." Bayley suggested. 

Sasha hesitated for a second. "Will there be popcorn?"

Bayley chuckled at that. "Duh, of course, there will be. If you hurry, we can probably sneak some s'mores too."

The mention of smores made Sasha feel a little better. "Alright, I'll find Trevor and we'll meet you inside." She said, more optimistic now and a little less sad. 

"Hey Sash...if you ever need to talk about the hard things, like your family, I'll always listen," Bayley promised, giving her one last warm hug before getting off the trampoline and leave Sasha to find her brother and reflect. Sasha wasn't sure what she did to deserve Bayley's friendship but she was glad to have it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know this chapter wasn't as long as usual but I still hope you enjoyed it. Sasha opening up a little bit about her family to Bayley was a good step. So maybe the dam is breaking and we'll get to learn more about Sasha's past.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha challenges Ronda to a fight, and things get angsty. TW: Ronda says some really screwed up things to Sasha.

Sasha had done everything she could do to keep herself out of trouble. Drawing the attention of the staff at her high school was number one on her list of things to avoid. This was why being called into her guidance counselor's office was so confusing, Sasha hadn't set up an appointment and wasn't sure what she had done wrong. 

She had made sure to keep her head down even further after Ronda threw her iPod in the pool. She wasn't sure why she was being summoned right now, but her counselor didn't look pleased to see her. 

"Did I do something, Mrs. Guerro?" Sasha asked the portly woman as she sat down across from her. 

Vickie Guerro had been in education for a long time, and she did like Sasha, but she had received a troubling tip. "You are not in trouble exactly. It's been brought to my attention that you are having trouble with other students." 

Sasha's eyes widened. "What? I haven't done anything, Mrs. G." Sasha pleaded. 

"I will need to talk to your foster parents. They haven't been returning my calls." Vickie said, her gaze narrowing in on Sasha. "I received a tip from a reliable source that you're on the streets. You're a minor Sasha, we need to get you the help you deserve."

Sasha felt like the world was somehow getting smaller in on her like the walls were closing in. "You can't do this." Sasha squeaked, her voice cracking. "The person is lying." 

Sasha had been placed in a foster home once and it hadn't gone well. They hadn't even reported her missing when she ran away. She didn't want to go back to the place that smelled like moldy cheese and cat pee. The foster parents weren't mean per se but they weren't exactly the most pleasant either. They had way too many kids of their own to even give Sasha the attention she needed. 

"It was your brother Trevor who told us, why would he lie? Honestly, Sasha, he's just looking out for you." 

A feeling of dread curled in Sasha's stomach, her brother was a dumb kid, he hadn't meant to hurt her like this, she was sure. "He's just mad at me, you can't believe him." 

Vickie sighed and adjusted her glasses as she looked at Sasha's files. "I am going to have to contact child services, Sasha. If your foster parents aren't taking care of you, we can find somebody who is..." 

Sasha shot to her feet, her eyes darkening. "I don't need your help." She growled, storming out of the room. She didn't fail to notice that Ronda was standing outside the door trying to subtly listen. 

"Maybe you'll actually get a bed gutter rat." Ronda taunted. 

Sasha whirled on her heels and shoved Ronda hard against the lockers. "Keep messing with me Ronda, I'll end you. You can bank on that." 

Ronda grunted as her back hit the lockers. "You're so dead Banks. I'll see you this afternoon, I'll make you wish you had people who cared about you when I beat you so bad you can't walk." 

Sasha scowled at her and just stormed off. She was furious and didn't even notice she was walking towards Bayley's class until she got there. She waited until the bell rang before snatching Bayley's hand and dragged her towards the bathroom. She needed to talk to her friend because she was freaking out a little bit. 

Bayley looked surprised to see Sasha but didn’t say anything about being dragged to the bathroom. She was getting used to the random things that Sasha did. She watched as her friend paced like a caged animal back and forth. 

It took a few moments before Sasha finally whirled on Bayley and began to speak, sounding almost hysterical. "Ronda did it, she got to Trevor. They know I'm homeless, they're going to ruin everything." 

Bayley's face softened but she let Sasha continue to rant. It was going to be better for them both if Sasha got everything off of her chest. 

"I am going to fight her, I am going to hurt her. I can probably take Ronda in a fight, I just need you there. Will you back me up, in case her cronies try and jump me?" Sasha asked, her eyes wide. 

"You know I have your back Sasha, but fighting Ronda is only going to provoke her more. Maybe there is a better way?" Bayley suggested softly, knowing that Ronda by herself would be tough, but with her cronies, it'd be harder. "We should find some allies, we can't do this alone."

Sasha shook her head. "I don't want anybody involved. I'll fight her by myself if I have too, just be there okay?" Sasha pleaded, reaching for Bayley's hand. She was furious about Ronda getting her brother involved, her anger was clouding her good judgment. 

"Okay, okay. I'll be there, I promise." Bayley said, squeezing her friend's hand. She was trying to placate her, wanting to get Sasha calm enough to rationalize things. "Let's go to class, maybe we can talk strategy at my house after." 

Sasha relaxed at Bayley's words, feeling like she could take Bayley's promise to heart. At least one person had her back. 

\----

After school let out Bayley had rushed home, wanting to talk to her Grandma. Bayley knew Sasha was going to need some backup, but she hoped that maybe she could convince her grandma to call the cops and send somebody to break up the fight. As the Student body president, Bayley had a good relationship with the faculty at school, but she knew Sasha didn't trust them. 

However as Bayley walked into her house, she was tackled into a hug by a streak of blonde hair. Bayley immediately hugged back, as a familiar scent hit her nose. "Charlotte." She breathed. 

Charlotte Flair pulled back from the hug, a wide smile on her face. "Surprise Bay!" 

Bayley melted back into the hug, burying her face into her best friend's shoulder. "What are you doing here?" She asked, forgetting momentarily about needing to get back to Sasha. She hadn't meant to forget of course, but she was distracted by Charlotte's sudden appearance. 

"Look who showed up." Bayley's grandma exclaimed, carrying a tray of cookies. "Don't be a rude hostess, take Charlotte's jacket.' It was then that Bayley's grandma seemed to notice somebody was missing. "Where is Sasha?"

Bayley's eyes widened in surprise, suddenly remembering why she had rushed home in the first place. "Crap. I gotta go help Sasha"

"Language young lady." The older woman reprimanded, clearly displeased. 

"Sorry Abuelita, but Sasha needs help," Bayley said quickly filling the other two on what was happening. "They're going to beat her up, I promised to have her back."

Charlotte scowled at the idea of Bayley or anybody being picked on. "I'll help you, it might even the score a little. Three against four is better odds"

"No, no fighting. I'll call the school or the cops." Bayley's grandma said, clicking her tongue in disapproval. She didn't like the idea of people fighting or her grandchild getting hurt. 

"Grandma if the cops arrest Sasha, it'll go really bad for her. Let me and Charlotte go find her." Bayley pleaded. 

"Fine, but I'm coming with you." The elderly woman said grabbing her cane. 

\---

Sasha was looking for Bayley, wondering where her friend was. Sasha checked her phone and then grimaced at the time. She was waiting in the park by herself, she could see Ronda and her crew approaching from the distance. Sasha had no idea where Bayley was, but she had a sinking feeling the girl wasn't coming. 

Anger blossomed in Sasha's gut but she forced herself to remain steady as Ronda stopped in front of her. "Look it's Ronda and her band of idiots." Sasha taunted, balling her fist at her side. 

Ronda snorted a little bit and look to her group. "Jess, Marina keep a lookout. I don't want to be interrupted while I teach gutter rat a lesson." 

Sasha did her best to get into a fighting stance. "I don't care if I lose Ronda, I'm going to take you with me though." 

Ronda snorted and snapped her fingers as her best friend Shayna moved behind Sasha so that she was surrounded. "I am going to teach you a lesson Banks. The world would be so much better with you gone, you're worthless. You're all alone, nobody wants you. Not your brother and not your friend, where is she? I guess she didn't think you were worth fighting for." Ronda said before laughing. 

For a moment doubt started to creep into Sasha's mind. Maybe Ronda was right, Bayley hadn't shown up for her and Trevor had ratted her out. Sasha tried to swallow down the emotional pain she was feeling, so she snatched a near by garbage can lid throwing it at Shayna. With Shayna flinching and distracted, Sasha launched herself at Ronda trying to land a blow on the larger girl. 

Ronda with all of her martial arts training easily dodged and avoided Sasha's strikes. She advanced on Sasha, forcing the girl to back up into Shayna. Shayna grabbed Sasha in a chokehold and forced Sasha to her knees. 

"Big mistake Sasha," Ronda said before she drove a fist hard into Sasha's face. Ronda began to beat her up then, Shayna holding Sasha's arms so she couldn't fight back. It wasn't long before Sasha lost count of how many times Ronda hit her.

Eventually, Sasha slumped down to her knees, pain surging through her body. She felt like one giant bruise, but Ronda wasn't done. She took Sasha's right arm and locked her in an armbar, yanking on it until she heard a disgusting pop. Sasha screamed out in agony, but Ronda kept yanking on it until she felt she had taught the girl a good enough lesson. 

Shayna tapped Ronda on the shoulder. "Enough, we gotta get out of here. She's done." Shayna said, pulling Ronda off of the injured Sasha. 

Ronda spat on Sasha and kicked her in the ribs one more time for good measure. "Stay out of my sight gutter rat or else." With that, the other group dispersed, leaving Sasha alone in the dirt.

\---

Alone and in the dirt was where Bayley found Sasha. Sasha had managed to pull herself into a sitting position against a tree, but there was a broken look in her eyes. Bayley knelt down next to Sasha, terrified that her friend might be dead. Bayley's fingers touching her throat was enough to cause Sasha to jerk away. 

"Sasha are you okay?" Bayley asked, her fingers trembling as she tried to fight the urge to hug her best friend. Sasha's right eye was already beginning to swell shut, blood trickling from her nose and nasty cut in her eyebrow was also raining blood. 

"Where were you?" Sasha asked weakly, her right arm held limply against her stomach. 

Bayley frowned. "I went home, I was trying to get help." 

"I needed you," Sasha said, tears falling down her cheek. They mixed with her blood, only making Bayley feel worse. "You weren't here."

"We need to get you to the hospital, my grandma called 911," Bayley said, trying to help Sasha up, but the girl jerked away from her touch. 

"Don't." Sasha snapped, her eyes flashing with anger. "You promised me." 

"Sasha I did come back for you." Bayley pointed out as both her grandma and Charlotte walked over. "Charlotte was at my house."

Sasha's good eye narrowed in on Charlotte and a painful laugh tore from the back of her throat. "The best friend, I should have known. Ronda was right." Sasha turned her back then trying to stagger away from Bayley. 

"Please," Bayley begged, going after Sasha. "It's not like that." 

"Leave me alone!" Sasha growled, trying to push Bayley away. She collapsed to her knees, sobbing against the ground as her body gave out. "Just leave, I don't want to see you." 

"It's not Bayley's fault, we came to help." Charlotte protested, not liking that Sasha was blaming Bayley. 

"I said leave!" Sasha shouted, looking pitiful with dirt and leaves in her hair. "I don't want you here, go away! I hate you! You are a liar, I should have never trusted you." Sasha cried, her voice cracking with emotion.

Bayley flinched at Sasha's harsh words, but knelt down beside the girl, whispering soft apologies until the paramedics got there. She watched helplessly as Sasha was loaded up on the gurney. She wanted to go with her, but the hurt look in Sasha's eyes gave her pause. 

The meaning was plain and simple: I don't want to see you again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy the angst. Things have been going a little to well for Baysha, so I decided that they needed some more angst. Because Bayley isn't perfect no matter how hard she tries and Sasha was idolizing her a little too much. Never meet your hero kids, they let you down in the end.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Baysha angst, Bayley goes to extremes to prove to Sasha she has her back.

For two long weeks, Sasha had been out of school due to her injuries. Bayley had waited every single day to see if Sasha would come walking in. Bayley hadn’t been allowed to see her at the hospital and Sasha had made it abundantly clear that she didn’t want anything to do with the other teen. 

Still, Bayley waited by the entrance to the school, keeping a lookout for Sasha during passing periods trying to spot her. After school every day Bayley would bike to the library or different places she thought Sasha might be. She had even tried getting in touch with Trevor but he was currently grounded. What ate at Bayley more than anything else was the fact that she had let Sasha down, so she was blaming herself for the girl’s absence. 

Bayley could hardly sleep, barely ate, her grades were even starting to slip a little bit. She was starting to lose hope when she finally spotted Sasha at the end of the second week. Bayley had been in the front office doing some work for the student government when Sasha walked in with a note for why she was late to school.

Sasha had a bright blue cast on her arm and it was in a sling. She was struggling to carry her backpack and her books. She looked a lot better than the last time Bayley had seen her, the bruises on Sasha’s face were starting to finally go away and she looked almost normal aside from the cast. 

“Hey.” Bayley greeted, hurrying over to Sasha. “Let me help you with those.” She said trying to take Sasha’s books. 

Sasha glanced at her, a deep frown settling into her features. “Don’t.” Sasha’s tone was clipped and it was clear she was still in a reasonable amount of pain. “I’ve got it, I can do it myself.” 

Bayley sighed and took the books regardless. “You don’t have to do it by yourself. I can help you, don’t be stubborn.” 

The glare that Sasha shot her way would have knocked most people on their backs, but Bayley did her best to ignore it. Sasha didn't really have the means to steal her books back from Bayley so she allowed the taller girl to carry them. Bayley walked her to class and much to Sasha's chagrin kept trying to make conversation. 

"So how's your arm feeling, I've been waiting for you to come back to school." 

The nonchalance in how Bayley was talking rubbed Sasha the wrong way. The shorter girl clenched her good hand, wanting to scream at Bayley. She couldn't believe Bayley had the nerve to act like everything was okay and back to normal. 

"You are a real piece of work you know that?" Sasha hissed, her voice full of frustration. "I don't need your help Bayley, I don't want it. I am not your charity case." 

"Wait, please Sasha, I never said you were," Bayley argued, shaking her head. "I've missed you these past two weeks, I've been trying to reach out to you, to explain that I didn't mean to let you down. I am sorry you got hurt, I'm sorry."

Sasha let out a bitter laugh. "I used to sit in these hallways, watching you walk down the hall and hug everybody. Little miss popularity, I never asked for you to be my friend Bayley. I was surviving on my own, I had a good thing going. But you just had to play savior like you're mother fricken Theresa." 

Bayley stopped walking then, her own anger simmering up underneath the surface. "I can't change the fact I wasn't in the park to save you, Sasha. I'm human, I'm not mother Theresa. I'm not perfect, you're the one who put me up on the pedal stool." 

"That's the problem, Bayley. It's my own fault, I let my guard down. I let you in and I got burned. I shouldn't have trusted you, I shouldn't have let myself get used to a good thing. Because they don't have a tendency to stick." Sasha took her books back from Bayley, struggling to carry them by herself once more. "It would be easy to blame you but really I blame myself. I think it's best if we go our separate ways." 

"Just like that?" Bayley asked, Sasha's words cutting her to the core. It hurt that Sasha was giving up on her after one mistake. "I mess up one time and that's it? Our friendship is over, no second chances?" 

Sasha couldn't meet Bayley's eyes. "It's not you Bayley, I just think it's better if we cut this friendship off before it ends up hurting us worse."

"You are a coward." Bayley spat, clenching her fist at her side. "I figured you out. You cut people out and you do this lone wolf thing, thinking that maybe it'll keep everybody at arm's length. I love you Sasha and I consider you my best friend, but you keep looking for opportunities to shove me out. That's not fair if I hadn't have let you down at the park you would have found another reason to cut me out." 

"That's not true." Sasha snapped back, though part of her knew Bayley wasn't lying. Sasha had gotten so used to going at things alone she didn't know how to accept help. It was easier to push Bayley away, then to admit that being friends with Bayley provided her a sense of happiness she hadn't felt in a long time. 

Bayley wanted to cry but was trying to keep her emotions in check. "If you don't want to be friends then fine, I can't make you. That's on you Sasha, but let's get one straight right now. I am going to keep being your friend and doing the right thing. Because I was taught you don't quit on people when they make a mistake, and you pushing me away, is a mistake, Sasha. I'll prove it to you too"

With that said, Bayley turned around and walked back to the office, leaving Sasha standing outside her class alone. She wasn't sure what Bayley had meant about proving it to her, but she had sneaking suspicion she was going to find out. It only took until lunchtime for Sasha to figure it out. 

When Sasha entered the lunchroom, there was a crowd of people standing in a circle. Sasha could hear them chanting for a fight, but she ignored it. At least until she heard Ronda's voice. 

"Get this crazy chick off of me!" Ronda yelled, trying to get away from her attacker. 

Sasha turned to see who was taking it to Ronda and found herself surprised to see it was Bayley. Bayley's nose was broken, but she wasn't letting up as she went after Ronda. 

Sasha looked around to see why Ronda's cronies hadn't jumped in to save their leader, only to see smaller fights breaking out in the crowd of spectators. Shayna was brawling with a foreign exchange student, while a few other students were taking it to Ronda's other cronies. 

For a moment Sasha felt amused that Ronda was getting her payback for being a bully, that moment of relief was shortlived though as Ronda managed to duck one of Bayley's punches and lock the Latina in a chokehold. For the briefest of seconds, Bayley's eyes locked with Sasha's as Ronda began choking Bayley out. 

Sasha wasn't sure why, but she didn't even hesitate. She couldn't fight with a broken arm, but that didn't stop her from snatching a pudding cup off the table and smashing it right in Ronda's eyes. 

"Leave Bayley alone!" Sasha snapped, kicking Ronda as hard as she could in the ribs. 

Ronda released the hold on Bayley, wheezing as she fought to get air back into her lungs. By this point, the teachers and campus security had come to break up the huge brawl. Sasha glanced down at Bayley who was breathing hard and held out her good hand to help her up. 

"You know we're all getting suspended right?" Sasha asked her, as she hauled Bayley up to her feet before the campus security started herding the students to the office

Bayley gave the barest hint of a grin, before groaning. "You're worth it though." 

"Try tilting your head back," Sasha muttered, grabbing Bayley a tissue from a nearby table so she could stop her nose from bleeding. 

"My grandma is going to kill me," Bayley muttered, holding the tissue to her nose. 

"Just tell her it was for a good cause." Sasha shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't sure where her friendship with Bayley lay, but it did mean a lot to her that Bayley had started a whole brawl in her defense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everybody who is reading this story. Please be sure to check out my other works, I'm writing a WWE superhero au with some friends that you should all check out. Thank you for every kudo, comment and view. Honestly the comments make me want to write more. 
> 
> Anyways what was your favorite part of the chapter? Do you think Bayley and Sasha need some friendship counseling or what?  
\- Relentlass.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baysha have a heart to heart in detention

Bayley was grounded and yet she found that she didn’t care. It had taken a long explanation to the principle and she had still been suspended for a week, but she didn’t mind that either. Because Ronda had been expelled from the school. That made fighting the blonde nightmare worth it. Well that and Ronda being turned into a pudding cup meme on social media. It didn’t even bother Bayley that she had detention because it gave her a chance to talk to Sasha.

Things were still a little tense between them, but at the very least Sasha wasn’t actively ignoring her. Sasha still had her walls up, but she would crack a smile in Bayley’s direction when she saw her, and that was really the only reward Bayley needed. It made her broken nose worth it too because Sasha had been tender and helped her hold a tissue to it when it had bled. 

They were currently in a Saturday school detention, supposedly trying to catch up on the array of different assignments they were missing. A question was niggling at the back of Bayley’s mind for almost a week since the fight, but she wasn’t sure how to ask it. 

“You’re staring at me,” Sasha said without even looking up from the essay she was writing. Sasha was surprisingly good at her English assignments and had saved them for last since they were her favorite.

“Are you taking care of yourself, like your cast I mean?” Bayley asked, chickening out from what she really wanted to ask. 

Sasha slowly looked up and raised a brow at Bayley. “I mean I try and keep it as clean as I can. That’s why you’ve been staring at me Bay? You're wondering about my hygiene?”

Bayley hesitated for a second, her cheeks turned a brilliant shade of red. She was trying to formulate how to ask her questions so she wouldn’t offend Sasha. “No, that wasn't it. I just miss you Sasha, and I know I messed up, but I just want to make sure you’re okay. Do you have a safe place to stay?”

A heavy sigh escaped Sasha and she frowned. “The foster care people I’m staying with right now aren’t so bad. They’re strict but at least they don’t yell and they make sure I have food and everything I need like clothes without holes.” 

“Okay,” Bayley said quietly. If anything the Latina teenager sounded disappointed.

“Okay?” Sasha arched a brow in confusion, her tone a warning to tread lightly. She didn’t get why Bayley was acting so weird. 

“It’s just...My Abuelita wanted to know if you’d stay with her. I know we’d have to get it cleared probably through the government, but you’d have someplace familiar. My grandma likes you.” 

Sasha chewed her bottom lip, her face softening as she shook her head. “I can’t ask her to do that Bayley, you’ve done enough for me. Plus I acted like a jerk the last time I saw her, she can’t possibly forgive me for that.” 

Bayley reached across Sasha’s desk and took her good hand. “Sasha...she’s a grandma. She’s had worse said to her, just maybe talk to her.” 

The words were easier said than done, Sasha had a good bit of pride still. Begging somebody to love her, to take her in and not leave her at the first sign of trouble, that was far too much vulnerability. Sasha wasn’t sure she had enough still left in her to reach out and risk being disappointed again. 

“I don’t know Bayley...I don’t think I am there yet.” Sasha gave her hand the briefest of squeezes before letting go.

Bayley tried to keep the disappointment from flickering across her features. She knew that Sasha was still guarded and after everything that had happened, it wouldn’t be good to push her. "Well, when you're ready. Would you like to come over for dinner or to maybe listen to some music together.." 

Sasha slowly shook her head again. "I can't, it's nothing against you, but my new foster parents are taking me to see my brother." 

Bayley gave her a sympathetic smile. "How's that going?" 

"Ricochet is...well his usual self. He stopped hanging out with Ronda's boyfriend at least, he tried to punch him in the face for what Ronda did to me." Sasha had missed hanging out with her brother. Sure he had made mistakes, but he was still her family. 

"I am glad he's away from them." Bayley shifted her attention back down to the paper in front of her, trying to get to work. However, it was Sasha's turn to keep staring at her.

"Why did you really do it? Attack Ronda I mean?" Sasha knew that Bayley had said she did it for her, but she was truly curious. 

Bayley sighed and set her pencil back down. "I told you that day and I'll tell you again Sash, I'm not perfect. I make mistakes, I'm human and I'm bound to fail. It's kind of what we do as teenagers, we make mistakes. All I know for certain is that I love you and you're like my best friend. I have your back come hell or high water." 

Sasha felt like the air was being driven from her lungs at the emotion in Bayley's voice. It wasn't that Sasha didn't have friends, but none that really knew the gravity of what she had gone through. "How do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

Sasha's gaze narrowed as she stared at Bayley, trying to figure her out. "Why do you always say things like that to make me melt. You get me believing in happy endings and that things might not always be this bad. Having hope hurts Bayley because then I'm left feeling constantly disappointed. I get mad at myself for believing good things could happen to me." 

Bayley's face fell and she stared at her desk. "I know I hurt you Sash and I can't take that back. I'm not perfect but I told you I loved you and I meant it. I can respect if you don't want me to interfere or be around as much in your life. But I have a friend that can teach you some self-defense. That way when I'm not around, you can protect yourself." 

"I can't afford martial arts lesson, Bayley." Sasha deadpanned, she didn't think her new foster parents would go for that either, despite how nice they were. They were loving and kind, but Sasha still didn't trust the floor not to fall through, so she did her best to tread lightly around them. The less they had to see or acknowledge her, the better in her opinion. 

Bayley knew money was a touchy subject for Sasha and she held her hands up. "They need somebody to sweep the floors and wipe down the mats. In return, they'd teach you self-defense." 

Sasha wasn't so sure about this. "I...I need to think about it. Can I think about it before I make a decision?" It was certainly something that she needed to run by her guardians first. 

"Yeah take your time Sasha, there is no rush," Bayley promised, trying to put the ball back into Sasha's court. Her grandmother had pointed out to her that sometimes her friendship with Sasha was probably a little too intense and that Bayley needed to allow Sasha time to process things. 

The bell rang to signal the end of Saturday school and Sasha began to quickly gather her stuff in her backpack. Bayley packed-up more slowly, deciding to give Sasha some space. Bayley texted her grandma that she would be on the way home soon and walked out to unlock her bike from the bicycle rack outside. 

She was surprised to find Sasha leaning against her bike and looking a little uncertain. Bayley cleared her throat and tilted her head to the side. "Everything okay Sash?"

Sasha locked eyes with her a lot of different emotions flickering through her gaze. "I'm still a little mad at you, but I am working on it. I am not perfect either Bayley, I don't know how to let people in or be a good friend...but I'll try." She took a deep breath, trying to force her way through the emotions she was feeling. 

"Sasha you don't have to do anything you don't want too," Bayley said, trying to give her an out. She didn't like Sasha blaming herself. "I forgive you and I'll be here ready to work on our friendship when you're ready." 

"Uh, can you not be perfect for like five seconds," Sasha growled, but it was playful this time. She hesitated and then surged forward hugging Bayley tightly.

Bayley had to fight back some tears of emotion as she felt Sasha hugging her. It was probably the first time she had felt whole in a couple of weeks. She felt something damp against her cheek and chuckled. "Did you just kiss my cheek or are you crying?"

"Both, shut up. Don't make it weird." Sasha pulled back and wiped her eyes with her good hand. "Walk me home, it's only a couple of blocks from your house? I...I kind of hate to walk by myself anymore." 

"I thought you'd never ask." Bayley finished unlocking her bike and smiled. "Hop on Banksy, your chariot awaits." 

Sasha giggled. "You're so stupid, don't call me that. What did I just say about making it weird?" She teased, climbing on the bike to allow Bayley to pedal them home.

"Get used to the weirdness Sash, it comes with the territory of being friends," Bayley called, laughing as well. 

Both of the teenagers were feeling lighter than they had in a long time and more optimistic about the future of their friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank everybody who has been reading this story. Baysha still has some growing to do, but I thought you all deserved some fluff. At least Ronda's out of the picture for now, who would have thought. Maybe Sasha can get some self-defense lessons though, so she can protect herself. 
> 
> Who is happy their friendship is back on track?


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit of a flashback in a way. Detailing Sasha meeting her new foster parents, it takes place during the time she was in the hospital and up to the point where she and Bayley got into the lunchroom brawl where Bayley kicked Ronda's butt. So there isn't much Bayley in this chapter but Sasha does think of her frequently.
> 
> Also, this chapter is relatively fluffy and not as angsty as usual so #praise.

When Sasha had been put into the hospital after Ronda’s attack on her, she had thought her life was over. The time she spent in the hospital, she had been guarded by a social worker, who kept giving her disapproving glances for leaving the home she had been placed in. It wasn’t that her foster parents had been bad, but they just didn’t care about her. It had been an unspoken agreement that Sasha would stay out of their way and they would stay out of hers. 

The social worker had not been thrilled when they figured out just how long Sasha had been on the streets. Her social worker had demanded that Sasha be placed in a new home, that the woman handpicked herself. 

Sasha already felt like death from what Ronda had done to her, but those hours of waiting to meet the people who would now be legally responsible for her again, Sasha was terrified out of her mind. If she hadn’t been so angry at Bayley during that time she probably would have tried to call the girl to come to rescue her. 

When Stephanie McMahon and her husband Paul Levesque walked in, they were not at all what Sasha was expecting. Paul was dressed in a button-up shirt and he was absolutely massive, his muscles seemed about ready to rip the seams of his shirt. Stephanie, on the other hand, looked absolutely put together, like she had stepped off the runway from a fashion show. There was a softness in their eyes though, Stephanie was staring at Sasha’s beat-up face with the sort of warmth only a mother could possess. Paul kept his expression more neutral, but there was a look in his eyes that Sasha recognized. 

“You must be Sasha, how’s the arm?” Stephanie asked, gesturing to where Sasha’s broken arm lay resting on a pillow. 

“Hurts a bit if I’m being honest,” Sasha said quietly, before reading their names off the hospital visitor pass. “I’m sorry you two are being stuck with me.” 

Stephanie and Paul exchanged a look and then glanced at Sasha’s social worker. “We’re not being stuck with you, we actually picked you. We heard about what went down at the park and Paul here is an officer. We picked you.” Stephanie explained, giving Sasha a meaningful look. 

Sasha took an uneasy breath, unsure of why they would pick her. Knowing that one of her new foster parents was a cop, she had a feeling it was only going to make things more difficult for her. 

“I know this is a lot to take in Sasha, but we have a lot of experience with foster children. Once you’re discharged from the hospital, we’ll bring you to our house and you can get to know us.” Paul said, giving her a small smile. He could sense her discomfort and was trying to give her back some of the power in the situation. “Or maybe we could meet at a food joint, so it’s neutral territory.” 

Sasha wasn’t sure what to make of them but nodded slowly. It wasn’t like she really had a choice in the matter anyway. “Yeah, that’d be fine.” She said, before laying her head back down on the pillow. 

Tears were starting to fall from her eyes, but they were tears of frustration. Once again she was being shipped off somewhere else, her whole body hurt and the one friend she thought she had, Sasha wasn’t so sure of anymore. 

Stephanie noticed her crying and grabbed a tissue, slowly wiping away the tears. “It’s going to be alright, sweetheart. It’s going to be okay.” The older woman whispered, brushing Sasha’s hair back from her face. 

Sasha shuddered and leaned away from the older woman’s touch, an untrusting glint in her eyes. Her face still hurt from Ronda’s beating and she didn’t know this new lady’s intentions. “T-Thanks.” 

Thankfully her new foster mom didn’t seem off-put by Sasha’s reaction, she just gave her a small smile. “Do you maybe want us to bring you back a milkshake or something?” 

“Well, I mean...A vanilla milkshake does sound kind of good.” Sasha said, feeling guilty that she was being so cold to them. “Or a banana one, I like those too.” 

Paul chuckled at that. “You got it, kid, we’ll bring you the milkshake.” He said with something akin to pride echoed in his voice. “I like vanilla milkshakes too.” 

Sasha managed a reserved smile. “Maybe we could drink our milkshakes together and get to know each other a little bit before the restaurant.” Sasha figured talking to them a little bit more would allow her the chance to see what kind of foster parents they were going to be. Sasha could usually tell after about an hour if people were fake or if they were actually genuine. If she was going to be stuck with them, she hoped they would continue to be as nice as they seemed so far.

\------

Four short days later when Sasha was finally released from the hospital, she found herself feeling increasingly nervous. Her social worker had driven her to the McDonalds so that she could meet with Stephanie and Paul again. She learned that pretty much everybody called Stephanie 'Steph' and that they called Paul by his nickname of Hunter. She didn't understand the nickname, but Sasha didn't really question it. 

She took a deep breath and then walked into the fast-food joint, trying to be slightly optimistic. In the few short days she had known them, Stephanie and Paul had stopped by the hospital at least once a day, often twice a day. They hadn't brought any of their other kids so this would be the first time Sasha was meeting them. 

It was easy enough to spot them, Paul was standing up by the counter ordering them all some food. He gave Sasha a warm smile and gestured for her to walk over. 

"Hey," Sasha greeted a bit uneasily. 

"Hey yourself, how's the arm feeling? I am sure you're sick of hospital food, so what would you like to eat?" He asked gesturing to the menu. 

Sasha's stomach gave an embarrassing growl. "Just some fries and a small hamburger would be nice." 

Paul gave her a knowing smile. "And a vanilla milkshake?" 

Sasha cracked a hint of a little grin, trying to be as friendly as he was. "Yeah if it's not too much trouble." 

"You got it, Boss. Stephanie is over in the play place, Vaughn still likes to play in the jungle gym." Paul said pointing to where Stephanie was just visible in the other room. "Or you could help me stay and carry the trays." He offered when he noticed the apprehensive look on her face. He didn't want to push her too hard, too fast. 

The teenager shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. "Yeah, I think I'd like to help you carry the trays first." 

Paul just gave her a reassuring smile. "That's fine, no problem at all." 

A feeling of relief surged through Sasha and she felt a little more at ease. When the food was finally ready, she followed her new guardian to the play place. Seated at the table with Stephanie were four girls, three of them were younger-looking than Sasha and were clearly her kids. They had the same dark blonde hair like their mother and looked to be thirteen and younger. It was the other girl that caught Sasha's attention. It took the homeless teen a minute but she finally managed to place where she knew her, the redheaded girl also went to Sasha's school and was in her same grade. 

"It's so good to see you, Sasha." Stephanie greeted with a warm smile. "I'd like to introduce you to everybody. These are my daughters." 

For a moment Sasha tuned her out, stunned by the fact that Stephanie seemed to include the redhead in her statement. In Sasha's experience, there was always a sort of dividing line between foster kids and actual kids. It took her back to hear Stephanie speaking freely. She shook her head, trying to focus back in, not wanting to be rude and cause problems already. 

"Aurora here is my firstborn, she's thirteen and loves sports. Murphy here is eleven and loves jokes so don't be surprised if she uses you as her test subject. Finally our nine-year-old wild child Vaughn, she's not afraid to get down and dirty in the mud and she loves video games. " Stephanie explained, nodding to each of her kids in turn, all of them waving or nodding to Sasha in response. Her gaze then softened as she looked to the redhead who was already scarfing down her burger. "I'm sure you've met Becky Lynch, she's been a part of our family for close to two years now. We couldn't picture life without her." 

Becky lifted her head up and glanced at Sasha. "Yeah, I know her," Becky said with her unmistakable Irish accent. She gave a half-grunt of acknowledgment and a half-smile. 

Sasha studied her and tilted her head to the side. "Yeah, I think we've had a class or two together." She had never really paid much attention to the redhead. "Um, you got a little." She gestured to the corner of Becky's mouth. 

Becky wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, gave her a grateful nod and then went back to eating. 

The fact that Becky was also a foster kid gave Sasha some hope, she seemed pretty well taken care of which went a long way. Sasha was hoping that she could get Becky alone and maybe ask the other teenager some questions. There was a piece of Sasha that was worried the kindness Paul and Stephanie were displaying was just a front. She didn't know if she could trust them quite yet. 

"Go ahead and dig in." Paul encouraged as he handed out the food to the rest of the kids. 

\-----

It was actually Becky who volunteered to show Sasha to her room at the house. Aurora, Vaughn, and Murphy all had their rooms on the second floor, Paul and Stephanie had their master bedroom on the first floor, but Becky was excited to show Sasha the loft. The house was massive and sprawling, at least twice the size of Bayley's. Sasha felt like she was going to get lost in it, there were more hallways and rooms then she knew what to do with. 

"How do they afford this?" Sasha asked quietly to Becky, as she followed the Irish girl up the stairs. "I thought he was a cop." 

"Stephanie's family comes from money, like that old school, upper west-side money. Probably more money then either of us could spend in our lifetime, but Stephanie is a lawyer. So she makes pretty good bank, she actually takes a lot of unwinnable cases and helps out the poverty-stricken people." Becky explained before opening the door to the renovated attic space. 

"Wow," Sasha said, shouldering the duffle bag that contained really everything she had. There was a bunk bed set up in the corner, but two big queen beds set up on either side of the room. 

"I was a little overwhelmed my first night too," Becky said, plopping down on her bed. "This one is mine, but that is yours. You even have a dresser. We have to share the bathroom that's up here, but Steph doesn't get mad if you use the other ones." 

Sasha walked over to the bed opposite Becky and slowly sat down, a small smile tugging at her lips. "It's kind of hard to believe this is really happening to me. I...I feel like I shouldn't get attached because it can all be taken away so easily." 

Becky nodded in understanding, she had been in the foster system for three years before she had been placed with Stephanie and Paul. "They're good people and I can promise you they'll keep you safe. They have some rules, but they aren't unfair. They like us to be home no later than seven so we can eat as a family. We have to spend at least thirty minutes doing a family bonding thing, usually game night on Thursdays or watching a tv show." She explained, trying to fill Sasha in on everything. She knew what it was like to be placed in a new home. 

Sasha ran her fingers over the quilt that was on her bed. "It's been a while since I had a family dinner. I mean I used to eat with Bayley and her grandmother." The thought of Bayley made her heart clench painfully. 

"I almost forgot you and Martinez were friends, she seemed to take a shine to you," Becky said with a small smile. She knew who Bayley was, everybody at school knew who the class president was. Bayley was hard to miss with her outgoing personality and penchant for hugging everybody in sight. 

"I don't think we're friends anymore," Sasha said rubbing at the cast on her arm. She almost wanted to cry at the memory. 

A dark glint entered Becky's eyes. "Did she do that to you?"

Sasha blinked in surprise at the tone of protectiveness that had entered Becky's tone. "N-no, Becky it wasn't Bayley that did this. It was Ronda that did it. Her goons jumped in the park...Bayley was supposed to be there, but she wasn't." 

Becky averted her gaze, glaring a hole in the ground. "Well if Ronda messes with you again, I'll kick her teeth down her throat. I know what it's like to be alone Sasha, you aren't on your own anymore." Becky promised, lifting her gaze to stare at Sasha with such intensity that the other teenager was the one who had to look away. 

"Thanks," Sasha said, although she didn't put very much stock into what Becky was saying. "I think I'd like to go to sleep now." 

Becky nodded and pointed to the dresser. "You can use some of my clothes until Steph buys you some new ones. She'll probably take you clothes shopping this weekend, she could probably win a gold medal for shopping." Becky said before chuckling. 

"Um...thank you for helping Becky...I'm glad I'm not by myself here." Sasha was still apprehensive about the whole thing, but so far the new foster family thing didn't seem as bad as it could have been. 

\----

When Sasha had finally made it to school after her injuries, she hadn't expected the conversation with Bayley. She had been fully prepared to walk away, but then Bayley had made that dumb speech about proving to Sasha that she'd be there for her. Bayley getting into a brawl with Ronda had been surprising enough, but apparently, Becky had decided to jump into the fight as well and take out Shayna. 

While Bayley was getting chewed out in the principal's office, Sasha focused her attention on Becky. Her foster sister had a black eye and a busted lip but seemed to be wearing them with a look of smug satisfaction. 

"How much trouble are we going to be in for fighting?" Sasha asked quietly, wondering if Paul and Stephanie were going to punish them. 

"Um we'll probably get grounded, have to endure TV time with the family. Last time I got into a fight, Stephanie put me on dish duty for two weeks and took away my laptop for a week unless it was for school." Becky said, giving Sasha a look. She reached out and lightly nudged Sasha's good arm. "They'll go easy on you, but we'll probably have to deal with a stern talking too. Those are the worst, but they're fair." Becky mused, giving a shrug. 

"I don't really want to rock the boat, I don't want them to send me away," Sasha mumbled quietly. Stephanie and Paul had continued to be kind to her and while they were a little eccentric, she liked them. Sasha had even found herself bonding with the three younger girls. "I wasn't trying to bite the hand that's been feeding me." 

Becky lightly squeezed her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Boss," Becky said using Paul's nickname for her. "They'll be understanding when they realize you were just trying to help out Bayley. Nice aim with the pudding cup, are you and Bayley cool now?"

Sasha hesitated to answer, she wasn't even completely sure where she and Bayley stood. "I helped her with her bloody nose. I think we could be on our way to being friends again. She did fight Ronda for me, speaking of that why did you help her?"

"I never back down for a fight and I didn't want your friend getting beat up. So my friends and I helped her out, we don't like Ronda or her stupid squad either. Plus Ronda won't be putting her mitts on my friend again. Whether you like it or not Boss, we're family now. I have to have your back it's kind of the code. I don't make the rules." Becky was all grins as she said it. She lived for a good fight and a chance to get even with a bully like Ronda.

Sasha felt a weird emotion tugging at her heartstrings. She hadn't been sure of Becky, but she could appreciate the other teenager's fire. "You're an odd one Becky, but thank you for having my back."

"Well Ronda kept calling you a gutter rat and if she calls you that, then she's insulting me and I don't take insults very well. Don't get all soft on me Banks," Becky said trying to play off the praise, a blush on her cheeks. 

"Well, never the less, thanks for the backup. You're the man Becky." Sasha said lightly rapping her knuckles against the Irish girl's. 

It was then that Paul walked through the door, he had a frown on his face when he noted their injuries. He was wearing his police officer's uniform and did his best to quickly sign them out. 

"I get a call from the school and I get told my kids were in a fight. Now, Becky, I know for a fact we've talked about working on our anger, so what caused you to lash out this time?" Paul asked as he escorted them to his car. 

Becky gave a shrug of her shoulders. "Some bully was mocking Sasha, so I stood up for her. I'd do it again." 

Paul pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Is this true Sasha, was she doing it to defend you?" 

Sasha chewed on her bottom lip but nodded. "She was trying to protect me, she doesn't deserve to be in trouble." 

"Fighting still has consequences, so Becky you're grounded, you too Sasha. The principle suspended you both. Becky, because you have prior offenses you're suspended for a full week. Sasha, you've been suspended for three days and because you missed so much school you can make it up at Saturday School. Also, your curfew is now earlier, if you're not at school you're to be at home, am I understood?" Paul asked, looking between the two of them as they got in the car. 

Both of the teens nodded, unable to meet his eyes. "Understood." They both replied. 

Paul studied them for a long moment before sighing. "You both had a long day, and while I really don't condone fighting, I do respect having each other's backs. So I'll get you both some ice cream, but you better have it eaten before we get home. Don't tell Steph I'm rewarding bad behavior or I'll be in trouble." He rolled his eyes skyward, silently wondering why he had only been given girls to deal with. Though he knew he wouldn't change it for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what are your thoughts? What do you think of Paul (hunter) and Steph being her new foster parents, and Becky being her new foster sister? Sasha might have a chance at having an actual patch of stability in her life. She needs some boundaries and a steady hand, she's been on her own for so long that she might not be willing to trust her new family quite yet. Also I wrote this all today so sorry if there are any errors. 
> 
> As usually be sure to tell me what you loved about the story and what you're excited for in the future.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha is nervous about having to invite Bayley over for family dinner and Bayley puts her at ease.

It had taken Sasha about three months of living with the McMahon-Levesques to finally start coming out of her shell. It had been a gradual process and she appreciated that they were so patient with her, they hadn’t forced her to accept them. 

As much as Sasha had gotten used to being on her own and having to be in control of every aspect of her life, it felt nice to be able to relax. For the first time in years, it felt like she was allowed to be a kid again. She didn’t have to worry about what she was going to eat or where she was going to sleep. 

Getting used to family game night had been interesting as well. Paul was teaching her how to play chess, and Stephanie liked to play scrabble with her. Becky of course always picked Sasha to be on her team which was a nice feeling, because sometimes Stephanie and Hunter’s younger three kids would try and fight over Sasha being on their team. 

One of the weirdest things about being part of the new family was their fascination with professional wrestling. Even when Paul had to work overnight shifts because he was on duty, whenever he got home they would all sit around the TV and watch the show together. Before this Sasha had never really watched professional wrestling, she had thought it was kind of dumb. Her new family seemed rather invested in it like other families would be invested in baseball or football.

At first, Sasha had sat on the end of the couch, not really paying attention to the show or what was going on. But as the weeks went by, she found herself getting invested in the storylines and different characters. It was like a soap opera and Sasha found that she was actually kind of enjoying the athleticism. Each member of the family had their favorites and it was almost like another friendly competition. 

It was a strange feeling, but Sasha actually felt relatively hopeful for the first time in a long time. It no longer felt like the floor was going to give out beneath her all the time. Even Bayley had noticed a change in her, often remarking that Sasha seemed more well-rested and even more vibrant somehow. 

That feeling of excitement turned to nerves however when Triple H and Stephanie told Sasha that she could invite Bayley over for dinner. Sasha had usually avoided bringing anybody to the houses she had stayed at before, simply because they weren’t her house. She was honestly feeling a little apprehensive about it because she was worried about how Bayley and her foster parents would get along. 

She wasn’t worried about Becky's reaction, at school Becky and her friends had taken to sitting close to where ever Bayley and she were. It had only taken a couple of days but Becky and Bayley had started talking like they were old friends. It was Hunter and Stephanie that Sasha was worried about, she was scared that if they didn’t like Bayley they’d forbid Sasha from hanging out with her anymore. 

Bayley, of course, seemed to pick up on Sasha’s somewhat reserved behavior. They’ve been friends for almost over half a year at this point, so she likes to think she knows what a nervous Sasha looks like. Bayley wanted to get to the bottom of it, before whatever it was festered into a big problem.

“Hey, Sasha,” Bayley spoke quietly, not wanting to disturb Sasha who was sitting next to her on the grass. They had been watching Becky play soccer during their lunch break, well Bayley had been watching, Sasha had been working on some homework. 

“Hmm?” Sasha asked still not looking at Bayley as she kept her focus on the homework paper. 

Bayley placed her hand over Sasha’s homework, not missing the flash of brief irritation that entered the other student’s eyes. “Sorry, I just needed you to look at me. Are you okay, are we okay?” 

Sasha gave her a weird look. “Yeah, why wouldn’t we be?” 

“Well you seem kind of tense lately, is everything okay?” Bayley asked, still keeping her voice low. It had been an adjustment for Bayley too, it was hard to get used to not seeing Sasha around as much. It was harder still not to feel a tiny bit jealous at Sasha’s newfound closeness with Becky. 

Sasha sighed and gently pushed Bayley’s hand off of her homework, before turning to face her. “My foster parents want me to invite you over for dinner, they want to meet you.” 

Bayley blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting that. “Okay, I don’t mind coming over. Is that what the problem is, or is it something else?” 

“This is going to sound really weird, but I just wanted to keep the two best things in my life separate. You’re my best friend and if they decide they don’t like you or…” Sasha’s voice trembled. 

Something finally seemed to click in Bayley’s mind and she let out a little snort. “Most people love me Sash, I’m good with parents. I promise you, I won’t mess up your new family situation, I’m actually kind of excited to meet them.” She took Sasha’s hand, rubbing her thumb over the girl’s knuckles, trying to soothe her best friend. 

A shaky sigh escaped the formerly homeless teenager. “What if they say we’re not allowed to be friends anymore?” Sasha knew it was a dumb little feeling of insecurity and not at all likely that it would happen, but she couldn’t help the feeling of anxiety bubbling up. 

“If that happens, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. But I promise as your best friend to be on my best behavior. I won’t embarrass you or do anything to get you in trouble.” Bayley said giving her hand a light squeeze before letting go. 

“You’d probably like their kids.” Sasha mused, knowing how well Bayley had done meeting Trevor. Sasha knew she should cut Stephanie and Paul some slack, they had been nothing but kind and accepting to her. They had gone out of their way to make her comfortable, but old mistrustful habits die hard.

“So you really don’t mind coming to dinner?” Sasha asked once more, wanting to make sure Bayley was really okay with it. She didn't want Bayley to feel guilted into coming over.

Bayley shook her head. “I just need to tell my parents where I’m going or my Abuelita, but I am sure they won’t mind. I’ve been kind of waiting for an invite for a while, I just didn’t want to say anything. I wanted to know how the other half live” Bayley said with a wide smile. 

Sasha lightly pushed her friend’s shoulder and rolled her eyes. “Alright, I’ll let them know you’re willing to come to have dinner. Maybe we can even score an invite for you Abuelita. I know Becky was extremely impressed when you brought those homemade tamales to school.” 

Bayley laughed and glanced out to the field where Becky was still playing soccer. If she was being truthful she had been jealous of Becky at first, especially since wherever Sasha was, Becky was usually a few steps behind. It had created a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach because Bayley knew that Becky understood stuff about Sasha that she didn’t. The first couple of times they had all hung out, Bayley had watched as Becky got to bond with Sasha and banter with her in a way that even she wasn’t allowed to yet. 

But then one day while Sasha was in the library, Becky had actually cornered Bayley outside the building to talk. She had been totally shocked when Becky had just thanked her for being there for Sasha and being a good friend. She also opened up to Bayley about some of her own struggles and Bayley had been stunned to find that there were a lot of parallels between Becky and Sasha's stories.

It had been that conversation that had softened Bayley towards Sasha’s foster sister. Becky was rough around the edges, guarded in a similar way to Sasha, but there was a light in her eyes that Bayley was starting to also notice in Sasha. Bayley had brought the tamales as a way of subtly apologizing for being jealous of Becky. 

"Maybe I'll ask my grandmother to make some and I'll bring them." Bayley offered, before giving a genuine smile to the redhead as Becky jogged over. 

"Did you guys see the goal I scored?" Becky asked, her cheeks tinted pink from running and playing. She bent down and stole Sasha's waterbottle taking a long swig out of it. 

Sasha looked slightly disgusted, still having to get used to Becky's sometimes overly friendly nature. "I did see, great job Bex." 

Becky beamed at the praise. "I'll try and score another one. Hey did you invite Bayley to dinner?" 

Bayley chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, she did. I'll have to talk to my parents, but I'll try and be there." Bayley said, giving Becky a reassuring smile, while subtly handing her own unopened water bottle to Sasha. "Maybe I'll even bring some more tamales."

"Sweet! I look forward to it." Becky took another drink of the water, before placing it back down next to Sasha. She ran back off to rejoin the game. "See you guys after school." She called over her shoulder.

"She has so much energy," Sasha said, before giving Bayley a thankful nod for the unopened water. 

"Maybe if Charlotte comes back to town we could all hang out. I feel like Charlotte could keep up with her energy-wise." Bayley said laughing. She stood up and dusted the dirt off her pants, before offering a hand to help Sasha up. "Walk you to class Sash?" 

Sasha picked up her backpack and nodded as she allowed Bayley to pull her to her feet. "Yeah, that'd be nice. Thanks, Bay." Sasha was feeling a lot less nervous about her new family meeting Bayley now. If Bayley could handle Becky's insane energy, then there was no doubt that she could handle the uniqueness of everybody else in the home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've seen jealous!Sasha, but jealous!Bayley is a new look for our friends. I know last chapter was really heavily focused on Sasha and her new family, so I thought it was important to work Bayley into that. Bayley is Sasha's best friend and I think this chapter is a nice little snapshot of how Bayley feels too. She's protective about Sasha, but she also has to be accepting and encouraging of Sasha's life expanding to include more positive people in it. 
> 
> Bayley has a bit of a hero complex as we know, but she doesn't always have to save Sasha from everybody. Bayley can also have insecure moments.
> 
> I hope you all are enjoying the story. The next chapter will for sure be Bayley having dinner at the McMahon-Levesques. Also did anybody notice that possible 4hw tease. I can just imagine them getting into all sorts of trouble over the summer.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this lucky chapter 10, we finally get Bayley coming over for dinner and bonding between everybody.

“Relax Sasha, you’re going to wear a hole in the wood floor if you keep pacing.” 

Sasha’s head snapped up and she looked at Hunter, his words weren’t harsh by any means but it still felt like a rebuke. “I am sorry.” She mumbled quickly averting her gaze. She let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head hoping that would chase away the negative thoughts from her head. 

Hunter frowned, moving to stand in front of his foster daughter. “Hey, it’s okay. Do you want to tell me what’s bothering you? Are you nervous about your friend coming to dinner?” He asked, trying to get to the bottom of what was really bothering Sasha. He hadn't seen her this uptight since the first family dinner.

Sasha had been excited until it had dawned on her that two different parts of her life were colliding a bit. She wanted Stephanie and Hunter to like Bayley, and she knew Bayley would be on her best behavior but there was still doubt niggling at the back of her head. 

“What if you hate her?” Sasha asked quietly, feeling more than a little vulnerable. She sounded terrified and it broke the police officer's heart.

Hunter briefly placed a hand on her shoulder giving it a light squeeze, before moving it. He had learned that Sasha was very particular about physical touches, and he didn’t want to overstep her boundaries. “Listen, kid, I don’t hate many people. From the bits and pieces I’ve heard about your friend, she seems like a stand-up person. I mean she did get into a fight for you, that seems like some real loyalty. That right there makes me like her.” Hunter said, trying to put her at ease. 

“Bayley just seems to have it all together, she saw me struggling when nobody else did and she gave me a place to stay. She and her Abuelita saved my life. They were both so kind to me, really showed me what compassion is.” Sasha said quietly. They had become her family and Sasha was thankful for them. 

“Well, then they have our thanks for taking care of you. I am glad you had some people on your side.” Stephanie mused as she carried in a salad and set it on the table. She had spent most of the afternoon baking and cooking, trying to make a large enough meal for everybody to have more than enough. “Do you mind setting the table for me, Sasha?” 

Sasha shook her head and began to set the table, thankful she had an outlet for her nervous energy. “Bayley said she is going to bring over some of her Abuelita’s famous tamales.” 

Stephanie smiled at that and grinned. “Well, I am more than happy to try them. Do you think her grandmother would like to stay for dinner as well?” Stephanie asked, trying to put her Sasha at ease by inviting people that she was already comfortable with.

“I’ll text her after I’m done setting the table and let you know,” Sasha promised, grateful that Stephanie had been willing to allow Bayley’s grandmother to come too. Sasha resumed setting the table, her gaze flickering to the door when Becky walked in. 

“Hello, family.” Becky greeted as she walked to the fridge. 

“You’re home later than usual,” Hunter commented, but there was no real accusation in his voice. She was still home earlier than curfew, more than anything he was just curious about what she had been up too. 

Becky nodded in acknowledgment of his words. “I stayed after school trying to talk to the women’s soccer coach. I wanted to see if I could possibly join the team.” 

“I think you’d be great at it,” Sasha said trying to be encouraging. She hadn’t wanted to get close to Becky but the more time they spent together, the more Sasha was thankful for having an ally. Becky had a lot of the same things happen to her, and it felt good to have somebody to relate to in that way. 

Becky shot her a grateful smile, before shifting her attention to Hunter and Stephanie. “Is it okay if I try out for the team? I think I could make it.” 

Hunter and Steph exchanged looks before Stephanie shrugged. “We have a lot of things already going on, but I think if it’s something your passionate about that you should go for it. We’d find a way to go to a couple of the games and support you.” Stephanie promised, giving her a warm nod. 

Sasha was stunned, mostly because she had never met parents like them. She finished setting the table and walked over to Becky. “I will make you some signs for your game and I’d try to be at all the ones I could. I know Bayley would too.” 

“Is she going to be here soon?” Becky asked, excited to see Bayley outside of the school environment. 

“Soon I think,” Sasha said, checking her phone. She lit up when she saw that she had a text message from her best friend. “She said she’s on her way, she lives about a ten-minute drive from us.” 

"Why don't you go change your clothes or something, wash up for dinner," Stephanie suggested, knowing that it would help Sasha to blow off some steam. 

Becky lit up as well. "Yeah, maybe you could help me braid my hair. It's been getting in my way on the pitch." Becky admitted, grabbing Sasha's hand and all but dragging her up the stairs to their room that they shared. 

Sasha quickly got dressed in some fresh clothes, feeling thankful that Stephanie had bought her some new clothes. Sasha couldn't even remember the last time she had actual new clothes, not to mention Stephanie had an eye for fashion. 

"You think Bayley will be impressed by the house?" Becky asked casually. She was still getting to know Bayley, so Sasha her go-to person, when it came to things like this. 

Sasha shrugged her shoulders. "Bayley's parents are doctors and her house is pretty big as well. I think more than the materialistic stuff, she'd just be impressed by how much Stephanie and Hunter care about us. Bayley is protective and as long as I am happy and safe, that's what is going to impress her the most." 

"Sounds like a great friend."

"I feel really lucky to have Bayley in my life. I've been nervous about how she'd get along, but I'm not sure why I'm so worried. Bayley has this aura about her, I think it will all work out." Sasha said, trying to pep-talk herself. She didn't know why she was worrying so much, but there was still a part of her that expected the floor to fall through at any minute. 

Becky could see that her friend and foster sister was starting to get lost in her head again, so she decided to try and distract her. “Hey, can you braid my hair before we go down?” 

Sasha nodded and grabbed some hair ties and a brush. “Yeah, I can still braid your hair. Do you want just one braid or two?”

“One would be fine,” Becky said sitting down on the floor so that Sasha would have access to her hair. Becky normally did her own hair, but she also liked the different creative styles that Sasha came up with. 

Brushing out Becky’s hair, Sasha began to braid it delicately. She did her best to get gentle, noticing almost right away that Becky was a little tender-headed. Sasha didn’t often volunteer personal information, but doing this with Becky reminded her of a fond childhood memory. 

“When I was little, my mom used to take me to the hair salon. It was mainly so she could talk to people, but I remember feeling like a star when I got my hair done.” Sasha said quietly, so quiet enough that she wasn’t sure if Becky heard her. 

“My dad didn’t know much about hair so for the longest time my hair was only chin-length, any longer and he’d get nervous,” Becky replied after a long moment, deciding to share something just as personal. “He tried you know, but sometimes people just don’t get a winning hand in this life.” 

Sasha sighed softly, knowing that feeling good and well. It wasn’t until she had met Bayley that she felt like she was winning at all. Her best friend really had been a ray of sunshine in some of Sasha’s darkest hours. 

“Things went wrong for so long it’s taking me a while to trust that they could actually go right. I know it makes me kind of jaded.” Sasha shrugged, but she had a feeling that Becky knew exactly where she was coming from. 

“When Stephanie and the family first agreed to adopt me, I have to admit I probably made their life hell. I couldn’t believe that they’d actually pick me, I figured if I misbehaved bad enough they’d ship me off. I didn’t want to get attached.” Becky replied, her eyes closing as Sasha braided her hair. It was almost a relaxing feeling to have somebody playing with her hair. 

Sasha let out a small laugh. “I’m glad that they picked you, don’t tell anybody I said this, but I think you’re alright Lynch.” 

Becky snorted at that. “Just alright, I’m the best almost sister you could have.” 

“I don’t know Murphy, Aurora, and Vaughn might be giving you a run for your money.” Sasha teased, unable to help but banter with Becky a little bit. There was no real bite in her town because deep down Sasha was feeling thankful that she had Becky to help her. The Irish-girl was like a godsend, and while not the same feeling, there was a bond there that was similar to the way she felt about Bayley. 

"Please we both know I'm your favorite." Becky teased right back, before standing up to check her braid. "Thanks for this Sash."

Sasha nodded and stood up, feeling a bit more relaxed now as well. "No problem, and don't tell them but yes you might be my favorite."

"I knew it!" Becky exclaimed, giving an excited little jump. 

Before Sasha could respond to her, she felt her phone buzz. "Oh Bayley's here, it's showtime. Come on." She said tugging at Becky's braid lightly, just to mess with her a little. 

\-----

Bayley hadn’t really known what to expect when she and her grandmother made their way into Sasha’s house. She had seen Hunter and Stephanie at a distance and Sasha did talk about them, but seeing them in person was a whole new ball game. Not only was Sasha’s foster father a cop, but he was a big dude, thankfully his mischievous smile softened his features. Stephanie also had a warm smile, but there was an aura of sophistication and class around her that made Bayley feel self-conscious. 

Sasha had noticed Bayley’s nerves and nudged her gently. “Here I’ll show you where to put the tamales. They smell so good.” Sasha said taking the initiative. She wasn’t used to seeing Bayley off her game, so she wanted to help her relax. 

“This house is really nice,” Bayley said, noting the pictures that covered the fridge. There were a lot of family photos, as well as a recent Polaroid that included Sasha with the family. It touched Bayley’s heart to know that the people Sasha was staying with actually cared enough to try and include Sasha in the photos. 

“It’s almost as big as yours. Becky and I share a room but it’s still bigger than any room I’ve ever had on my own.” Sasha said, before giving Bayley a reassuring smile. “Thank you for coming here tonight to meet them.” 

“Of course, I gotta make sure my best friend is taken care of,” Bayley said, returning Sasha’s smile with one of her own. “You really like it here?”

Sasha nodded her head. “I do, they’re friendly and sweet. They seem to actually care and for once I don’t have to be the adult. I’m allowed to just be a teenager.” 

Bayley set down the food on the counter before turning and pulling Sasha into a hug. “I’m so happy for you. You deserve to just be you.” She whispered, kissing the crown of her best friend’s head. She could feel Sasha trembling in her arms, the girl breaking apart in her embrace. Bayley remained still just holding Sasha, allowing her best friend to really process the moment and the realization that she didn’t have to worry about things anymore. 

Stephanie walked in after a moment, her eyes narrowing slightly when she noticed Sasha’s crying against Bayley’s chest. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just feeling really happy. It’s a feeling I’m still trying to get used to.” Sasha said, a watery smile crossing her face as she hurriedly wiped at her tears. 

“Ah, well dinner’s ready so why don’t you show Bayley to the table and we can eat,” Stephanie suggested, giving Bayley a warm nod. “Your friend can have the place of honor right next to you and Becky. If that doesn't scare her off, then nothing will” 

Bayley blushed a little but forced herself to keep eye contact with Stephanie. “Thank you, ma’am, for inviting us over. You have a lovely home. As for Sasha and Becky scaring me off, I don't think that's possible, I'm rather fond of them.” 

Stephanie laughed at that. “I like your friend already Sasha, be sure to keep this one around.” 

“I intend too,” Sasha said giving Bayley a meaningful smile, before tugging lacing pinkies with her best friend. “Come on, maybe we can get Hunter to tell you the story of the time he busted the mayor for speeding.”

“Well, now that’s a story I gotta hear,” Bayley said, following after Sasha to the table. She took the seat right next to her best friend and Becky, giving the Irish girl a smile. “Nice to see you Becks.” 

Becky winked at her. “I’m glad you’re finally here, I’m starving. I skipped lunch just to save room for the Tamales.” 

“Excuse Becky, she has been talking none stop about the tamales since you mentioned you’d bring some,” Sasha muttered to Bayley, causing the girl to laugh. 

As everybody dug into their food and talked to each other, Sasha took a moment to drink it all in. Stephanie was talking to Bayley’s Abuelita and comparing recipes. Bayley was juggling talking to Hunter, Becky and the three younger girls like a pro, making each of them feel important and special. Sasha had never doubted Bayley’s ability to be a people person, but seeing her jumping right in and asking questions warmed Sasha’s heart. Having everybody she cared about at the table, it was probably one of the best feelings Sasha had experienced in a long time. All that was missing was Trevor, but she knew her baby brother would be happy that she was happy. 

It was silly to think that a small dinner could mean so much, but to Sasha, it meant the world. She was starting to believe that this is what true happiness felt like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe we made it to ten chapters. Where this story ends I have no idea, but thank you for sticking with me. Huge shout out to my friend Hunter for always encouraging me to write more. In case you missed it I am writing a Riott Squad + Charlotte fic in this same universe, so be sure to keep an eye out for future updates of that. 
> 
> Thank you to all my readers and big thanks for every kudo, comment, bookmark and subscription. I love you all.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha gets a troubling envelope that threatens to shake her to her core. But of course she always has best friend!Bayley to help her through it.

Sasha sat on the floor of her and Becky’s room, working on some homework. The house was unusually quiet since Becky was at soccer practice while Hunter had taken the younger three girls to see a movie. He had, of course, invited Sasha, but she was thankful for the alone time to study. She had a couple of big tests coming up and she wanted to make sure she was prepared for them. 

She heard the sound of Stephanie’s car pulling into the driveway but didn’t think anything of it. No doubt her foster mom was just getting home from a long day at the office. She listened for the familiar sound of Stephanie setting down her keys and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. It seemed like such a small detail, but Sasha had grown to appreciate the routine the older woman kept. 

“Hey, Sasha...are you home?” Stephanie called up the stairs. 

Sasha set her textbook down and got to her feet. “Yeah, I’m here.” She called, heading down the stairs towards the kitchen. “Something wrong?” 

The smile on Stephanie’s face didn’t quite meet her eyes. “No, nothing is wrong. You just got a letter today.” Stephanie explained, nodding to the pile of envelopes on the counter. 

Sasha crinkled her nose, not used to having things addressed to her. She couldn’t recall the last time she had received a piece of mail. She picked up the letter and then looked at Stephanie. “You didn’t open it?” 

The older woman sighed and shook her head. “Nope, it’s addressed to you, not your guardians.” 

Sasha wasn’t sure why her foster mom was acting so strange but shrugged and opened the letter. Almost immediately she wished that she hadn’t, as an old weathered polaroid fluttered to the ground. It was a picture of Sasha, Trevor, and her parents, taken years ago. Now that she had the letter up close she recognized the loopy handwriting of her birth mother. Sasha hadn’t seen the woman in close to six years. 

“What the heck is this? Is this some kind of joke?” Sasha asked, her eyes flickering to Stephanie’s. “She is choosing to try and get into contact now?” Her voice was starting to rise in volume, anger radiating from the teenager in overwhelming waves. 

“It’s from your mom?” Stephanie had thought it might be, but the look in Sasha’s eyes gave her all the confirmation she needed. “What does she want?” 

Sasha’s eyes roamed the letter and she let out a scoff. “She wants to meet with me and Trevor. No doubt with some crappy excuse about how she’s reformed.” Sasha spat. She was feeling things that she had tried to push down, but they were now creeping up again. It felt like the walls were starting to creep in on her. “Can I go for a walk?” 

“I think we should talk about this, you don’t need to deal with this by yourself,” Stephanie replied, her tone full of concern. She actually cared a lot about Sasha and she could tell that the letter had upset the teenager greatly. 

A shudder passed through Sasha. “We will talk about this, but I just need some air. Please.” Sasha pleaded, ready to just beg Stephanie to let her go. “I just need to go back to Bayley, I’ll come right back I promise. I’ll text you as soon as I get there.” 

Stephanie hesitated, she wanted to be there for Sasha, but she could tell that Sasha needed to process what was going on in her own way. “How about we compromise. I’ll drive you over there and then when you’re ready to be picked up, I’ll come and get you. Deal?” 

Sasha nodded slowly. “Yeah, that’s fair.” She conceded, knowing Stephanie was probably just worried about her trying to run away or hurting herself. “I just need to talk to Bayley for a little bit.” 

\-----

Bayley was at her house, working on a project for the student council and talking to Charlotte on the phone. Bayley missed her tall blonde friend, so it was nice to get to talk to her. Her friend had been telling her about her plan to get two of the girls at her school to become friends. 

“You pretended to have something to do, just so that they’d be forced to work together?” Bayley questioned, barely able to hold back a smile. She couldn’t see Charlotte’s face but she knew her friend was smiling as well. “That’s another level of evil genius their Flair.” 

A knock at Bayley’s front door pulled the teenager out of her conversation. “Hey Char, I think somebody is here. I’ll call you back later.” Bayley said, hanging up the phone. She walked to the front door and opened it, surprised to find a distressed-looking Sasha on her front porch. 

Concern flickered across Bayley’s face and she opened the door wider. “Hey, what’s going on?” 

Sasha trembled and held up the letter she had received from her mom. “Can I come in for a few minutes?” 

Bayley took the letter and nodded. She could see Stephanie in her driveway, so she gave Sasha’s foster mom a quick wave, before moving so that Sasha could enter her house. Reading through the letter Bayley wasn’t sure what she was really reading. 

“Your mom wrote this?” Bayley asked after a moment. 

Sasha seemed to deflate, but shook her head ‘yes’. “She wants to see me and Trevor.” 

“Do you want to see her?” Bayley was doing her best to tread lightly, knowing how volatile the whole situation was. Sasha didn’t usually talk about her parents much, but when she did it was rarely anything good. Bayley set the letter down and just opened her arms, allowing Sasha to make the decision on if she wanted the hug or not. 

Sasha almost immediately moved into Bayley’s embrace, burying her face into Bayley’s shoulder. She breathed in the scent of her best friend’s laundry detergent and closed her eyes. “I don’t know if I want to see her,” Sasha said when she finally found her voice. 

Bayley just soothingly rubbed at her back, giving Sasha a moment to process everything. “You don’t have to see her if you don’t want too. I am sure if you did want too that Stephanie and Hunter would go with you. I could be around too if you wanted, to help you escape. I could fake an emergency.” Bayley offered. 

“I can just imagine us trying to outrun my mom on your bike.” Sasha laughed at the mental image, before slowly extracting herself from the hug. “I don’t know what the right thing to do is. I’m angry at my mom and my dad, they picked their addictions over me and my brother. I am not even sure I want to hear them say they are sorry, because it’s not going to make up for the nights I went to bed hungry.” 

“Parents aren’t perfect Sasha and I am sorry that yours hurt you.” Bayley wasn’t sure what the right thing to say was, but she just wanted her best friend to know that she wasn’t alone. 

Sasha was angry and she was hurting inside. She didn’t know why her biological mom had decided to come back now. “Trevor finally had stability, he’s away from the bad influences. I don’t want her coming back into our lives just to hurt him again.” 

“I don’t want to see you hurt either.” Bayley protested, reaching for Sasha’s hand. It was clear to see that the formerly homeless teenager held a lot of pain inside. Just in the past year since they had become friends, Bayley had witnessed Sasha coming out of her shell. She was a bit worried that if Sasha’s mom let the girl down, Sasha would shut back down on herself. 

“All of this is a lot to take in. I don’t think I’m ready to see her, but maybe I can write her a letter.” Sasha decided, lacing her fingers with Bayley’s. She gently squeezed Bayley’s fingers and then tugged her friend in for another hug. “Thanks for opening the door, Bayley.” 

Bayley laughed softly and pressed a kiss to Sasha’s temple. “We’re best friends dude, I’m always going to open the door for you. Now, how about we eat some ice cream and watch some trashy reality tv until Stephanie gets back.” 

Sasha felt bad for intruding. “Weren’t you busy though?” 

“Nah, I was just talking to Charlotte. Apparently, she’s made it her mission to get these to girls at her school to be friends. So much juicy drama.” Bayley laughed and gently hip-checked Sasha. “I’ll call her back later, for now, you and I have a date with some ice cream,” Bayley said, wiggling her eyebrows playfully. 

Rolling her eyes Sasha chuckled under her breath. She knew she had made the right decision to come and see Bayley, she was feeling a little better already. It never failed to make her feel lucky, that she had a friend like Bayley who had her back. She stared at the taller teenager for a moment and then cleared her throat. “You’re my person Bayley. I am grateful for you, there are a lot of great and dreamy people in this world, but they aren't the sun...you are.” 

Bayley’s eyes lit up at Sasha’s attempt at a Grey’s Anatomy reference and she beamed at her friend. “You’re my person too Sash, always. I knew if I made you watch Grey's Anatomy, you'd get hooked." 

Sasha scowled playfully. "Shut up, you promised me ice cream." She muttered, though her tone lacked any real bite. She had found that she didn't mind binge-watching Bayley's favorite shows when her friend was excited and animatedly talking through half the episodes. It was Bayley at her happiest and in Sasha's opinion, her most captivating.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha and Bayley support Becky at her soccer game. We stan a supportive friendship.

“Hey stranger, is this seat taken?” 

Sasha glanced up with a sharp retort on her lips, but her face softened and she looked surprised to find Bayley standing in front of her. She had thought that Bayley would be busy, so Sasha had gone to Becky’s soccer game with the rest of her family. They were all trying to be supportive of Becky on the team by showing up to the game. Aurora, Vaughn, and Murphy all had shirts with Becky’s face on them, and Sasha had drawn a little poster. 

“What are you doing here?” Sasha asked, raising a brow. “I thought you had plans.” 

Bayley shrugged her shoulders. “They fell through, besides I know Becky could probably use the extra support. You think she’ll get any playing time?”

Sasha glanced towards the field where Becky was sitting on the bench. “I hope so, but it remains to be seen.”

“So are you going to move so I can sit by you?” Bayley asked, an expectant smile on her face. 

“Oh right, yeah sorry.” Sasha slid over, clearing a space for Bayley to sit down next to her. She ignored the grunt from Aurora who was now a bit squished. “You always dress up for games?” Sasha asked nodding to the face paint Bayley had applied. 

“I’m all about that team spirit.” Bayley mused winking at Sasha, before taking a seat. “Nice sign.” 

Sasha blushed as she glanced at the sign. She knew Bayley wasn’t making fun of her, but she did still feel a bit shy showing off her artwork. “Becky wanted us to make her a sign. It’s lame I know.”

Bayley shook her head and gently squeezed Sasha’s hand. “Nah, it’s not lame at all Sash. I’m sure Becky is going to love it, she’ll be happy to know you’re here supporting her. She’s lucky to have her family here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at a school game before, so she should feel special.” 

For some reason, Bayley’s words seemed to hit Sasha right in the gut. Sasha had always avoided the school spirit conferences and pep rallies, she hadn’t realized that Bayley had noticed her absences. “I guess I never had a reason to go to one of these before.”

“Well, I am glad you’re here. Going to high school games is a tradition.” Bayley said, nudging her, before focusing in on the match. 

"Mom says we have to come to support Becky at the games. It's family bonding, Sasha doesn't have a choice." Murphy piped up, smirking at Sasha. "But Sasha totally would have come anyway, her and Becky are thick as thieves. That's what mom says anyway." 

Sasha shot the younger girl a playful glare. "Well if I am coming to more of these, you better help me with my signs. They need more glitter." 

Murphy's face lit up. "Oh, I can do that!"

If Bayley noticed the two foster siblings bantering, she didn't say anything, the only indication that she was listening was the slight smile that crossed her face. Bayley had noticed that Sasha was slowly opening up to Hunter and Stephanie’s other daughters and it made her happy. She was aware of how hard it was for Sasha to trust people and open up to them, but it seemed like Sasha had been making an effort. 

“I don’t understand how this game works,” Sasha said after a long silence. She wasn’t sure how the rules of soccer went but she could tell Becky was going stir crazy on the bench.

Bayley laughed and tried to unsuccessfully explain the rules to Sasha. She could tell by the glazed look in Sasha’s eyes that it wasn’t working. “Every time our team has the ball is good, every time the other team has it, bad. That’s all you need to know.” Bayley conceded, squeezing her best friend’s hand. 

“Do you think that Becky will get to play?” Sasha asked. 

“Um, possibly. I mean our team is alright, so I doubt she could make it any worse. I hope she gets a shot though, she deserves a chance.” Bayley mused, her attention half on the game and half on Sasha. 

"How come you don't play sports?" Sasha asked the question quiet enough that she almost thought that Bayley didn't hear her. 

Bayley slowly turned to look at Sasha, studying her for a long moment. "I guess because I was busy with other academics. I like soccer but my schedule was too full. How come you don't do a sport?"

Sasha ducked her head sheepishly. "I guess because I never had the money to buy the team stuff. What was the point of making a team if I couldn't actually be on it? Most of that stuff was expensive and I loved on the streets." Sasha replied, before clearing her throat. "I was on a pee-wee soccer team when I was little. It was probably when I was about four or five, my dad was my coach until he got to busy drinking to show up." 

Bayley was no longer paying any attention to the game, her sole focus on Sasha. She knew how important it was to allow Sasha the safe space to process these feelings. "I bet you scored a lot of goals." 

"Actually I kind of sucked, But I enjoyed it," Sasha said with a shrug. 

"Are there any pictures of baby Sasha playing sports?" Bayley questioned, curious to know if Sasha had access to any of them. 

"No, I mean my mom or dad might have one, but I'd doubt it." Sasha trailed off, as she thought about her childhood. It was a heavy topic and right now she wanted to focus on Becky. 

Bayley didn't push her, instead, she simply chose to just squeeze Sasha's hand. She followed Sasha's gaze back to the soccer pitch and tried to cheer the team to victory. Bayley felt her phone buzz and reluctantly let go of her best friend's hand to check it. 

"Charlotte?" Sasha asked a feeling of white-hot shame settled into her stomach. "Wasn't she supposed to be here this weekend for a visit?" Sasha had already made plans to keep herself busy so that Bayley could spend the weekend catching up with Charlotte. 

"She had to cancel on me, something came up back home. I think she'll be coming out here for spring break...do you maybe want to hang out with us? You could invite Becky too." Bayley wanted Sasha and Charlotte to get along but she wasn't going to press the issue. Her thinking was that if Becky was around, Sasha wouldn't feel like the third wheel and would be more at ease due to having another familiar face. 

Sasha hesitated, trying to process how she actually felt about it. "I'd like to have a do-over with Charlotte. I know she's important to you, so I'd like to try. Can I have some time to think about it and get back to you?"

"Of course Sash. You don't have to give me an answer now, it's all good." Bayley said, rewarding her with one of her signature hugs. The fact that Sasha was even willing to try and maybe hang out with Charlotte was a step in the right direction, and Bayley was thankful. Selfishly she wanted the people she cared about most to get along. Charlotte had always been one of her best friends and Bayley had a feeling that if Sasha could open up a little bit, all of them could gel as a unit.

Sasha relaxed into the familiar hug before she noticed something on the field. "Hey look, I think Becky's getting put into the game! She's getting a turn." Sasha said, surprised by the little feeling of pride she felt at seeing Becky getting subbed into the game.

"Wanna get closer so we can cheer her on? Maybe if we yell loud enough, she'll hear us." Bayley asked. 

Sasha nodded and looked to Stephanie, silently asking permission. An amused and knowing smile crossed over Stephanie's face but she waved Sasha on. 

"Come on! Maybe she'll get a goal or something." Sasha took her sign and followed Bayley down the steps towards the front row of the stands. "Come on Becky!!"

Bayley laughed and followed Sasha's lead. "Score a goal Becky, you can do it!"

The red-headed teenager's face seemed to heat up with embarrassment when she noticed both Sasha and Bayley cheering for her. She gave them a dorky thumbs up and then focused back in on the game. 

Noticing that Sasha finally seemed ingrained in the game, Bayley discreetly used her phone to snap a couple of pictures of Sasha. Perhaps it was pure luck, but she managed to snap a picture of Sasha's face right as Becky scored a goal. Bayley, of course, wouldn't admit it, but it warmed her heart to see the look of pride and belonging on Sasha's face. Bayley wasn't dumb she knew how hard it was for Sasha to open herself up and care about people, but it was clear as day that Sasha felt a strong attachment to Becky. 

After the game, a sweaty Becky came jogging over, her eyes wide with excitement as she launched herself up and on the railing of the stands. "Did ya see that, guys? I scored a goal!" 

"We saw! It was spectacular Becky," Bayley said, chuckling at the Irish teenager's enthusiasm. 

"Yuck, you're all sweaty." Sasha groaned, struggling to get away from Becky as the girl pulled her into a celebratory hug. "Yeah your goal was pretty alright I guess. But you're sweating all over me, let go!"

"Get used it, Banksy! I'm a winner winner chicken dinner. Hug me, sister!" Becky said rubbing her cheek against Sasha's much to the other teenager's chagrin. 

Bayley could tell that despite Sasha disliking the sweaty hug, she was happy for Becky. "Say cheese, you guys. We gotta document the moment," Bayley said snapping a picture of the three of them together. Becky right in the middle with a cheesy grin, Sasha on the left attempting to look irritated but her eyes full of pride, Bayley on the right with a look of pure love her friends.

Smiling at the picture, Bayley already knew she was gonna frame it and put it on her dresser. She ruffled Becky's hair and pulled back from the hug. "Think Stephanie and Hunter will let you guys grab an ice cream with me? I'm buying, you both can even have sprinkles." Bayley teased.

"We were gonna take Becky out to celebrate her goal anyways. You wanna ask your Abuelita if you can come with us?" Stephanie asked as she and the rest of their family made their way down to the bottom of the stands. Stephanie gave Becky a motherly hug and squeezed her tight. "Good job kiddo."

Bayley watched the make-shift family, a warm feeling tugging at her heartstrings as she watched Sasha excitedly showing Becky the sign she made, and how the younger girls were all over Sasha and Becky. "Yeah, I'll meet you there," Bayley said, a watery smile making its way across her face. 

Seeing Sasha and Becky both happy and loved, with a family that supported them made Bayley a little emotional and made her heart feel full. It was strange to think of how far they had all came, and what they had all gone through. She excused herself and walked away, letting the family celebrate together. Before she turned the corner to leave, she took one last photo with her phone. It was a picture of the little blended family in a group hug, Hunter's strong arms wrapped around his girls.

"Yeah, that one is a keeper," Bayley whispered to herself, trying to blink away the tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say thank you to everybody who is reading this and kind of living Sasha's journey with her. I hope you all are staying safe out there. I know things are scary but you aren't alone, and if you need to hear it then just know I love you and I'm sending positive thoughts your way. We're gonna make it through this.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bayley catches up with Charlotte and makes plans while Sasha has a traumatic encounter with a stranger from her past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: We get into some of Sasha's backstory in the later half of this chapter and it isn't all that pretty. She kind of lived a rough life on the street so just trigger warning in advance for some child abuse? Her biological mom really is a crappy person.

Bayley had to admit that seeing Charlotte again felt right. It had been a bit since they could catch up together in person and Bayley was excited. Charlotte’s last trip had been postponed but finally, they made things work so that Charlotte could spend her school break with Bayley. Of course, she had let Sasha know in advance, she didn’t want her friend to feel ignored and she was well aware that there was still some tension between the duo. 

There was a small piece of her that was hoping she could use this time with Charlotte to smooth over any ruffled feathers. If she could ease Sasha and Charlotte into hanging out, then Bayley was absolutely convinced that she could get them to become friends. It was going to be a slow process though because Sasha wasn’t the type to warm up to new people right away. 

Still, Bayley took it as a good sign when Sasha hadn’t gotten offended when Bayley had said that she was going to be spending a day with Charlotte catching up. She had meant it as an invitation to Sasha, but the formerly homeless teen had stated that she planned to just spend the day catching up on homework and reading. Bayley still had her doubts and was a bit worried that Sasha might be ducking her, but she figured she’d give Sasha some time to warm up to Charlotte being around at least. Sasha had been making a lot of progress so it wasn’t an impossible theory that Sasha could, in fact, be welcoming to the blonde. 

“You look like you’re a million miles away, what’s going on?” Charlotte asked, pushing the plate of fries they were sharing towards Bayley. “Thinking about Sasha again?”

Bayley blinked and gave a guilty smile. “Yes, but not in the way you think. I really want you both to be friends, I know it’s a pipe dream but one could hope right?”

Charlotte considered Bayley’s words and shrugged. “Not everybody is meant to be friends Bayley, but I am not opposed to hanging out with Sasha. Our first impression was kind of crappy, but maybe this second one will be better.” 

Bayley plucked a fry off the plate and chewed on it thoughtfully. She didn’t want to spend all of her quality time with Charlotte talking about Sasha. “So tell me how is your school year going?” 

“It’s actually going well, there’s always drama at that school but I’ve been making new friends.” Charlotte was proud of the work she had been doing at her school. “I mean I’m not class president like yourself, but I’ve been enjoying the volleyball team. I might make the team captain this year.” Charlotte said, beaming at Bayley. 

“That’s so great Charlie, I am proud of you,” Bayley said, flashing a warm smile of her own. 

She had been sad when Charlotte moved away, but she was pleased to know that her best friend was thriving. The blonde had been there for Bayley through some of the hardest times in Bayley’s life. There had been a period of time where Bayley had thought her parents were divorcing and Charlotte had been her rock through it. It had actually been Charlotte who taught Bayley a lot about how to be a good friend, and Bayley was thankful for those lessons because they had helped her with Sasha. 

“So speaking of you being class president how is that going? Do you have any big events coming up?” Charlotte asked curiously. She had been the one to originally encourage Bayley to run for Class President. 

Bayley fiddled with another fry before setting it down. “Well, the prom is coming up for Juniors and Seniors. This is the first time I can go to one and I want to make sure it’s memorable. There’s a lot of pressure to throw a good one because I don’t want to be known as the Class President with the lamest prom?” 

Charlotte crinkled her nose. “Do they actually keep track of which person threw the lamest prom?”

Bayley’s eyes widened and she nodded rapidly. “That unfortunate honor goes to Molly Holly, class of 1998. She had the prom catered by a vegan deli and booked her church band to play the gig. I’ve heard rumors that there were nuns there.” Bayley said, sounding horrified. 

“Oh gosh, that does sound bad,” Charlotte admitted shaking her head at the second-hand embarrassment. “Well, what kind of budget does the student council give to the prom’s planning committee?”

“It’s not a lot of money, that’s why I want to pick a cheap theme that can still be fun. Maybe like Starry Night.” Bayley mused, cringing at how lame it sounded. 

“That’s a bit cliche though, every high school does that. What about a Night at the Gala? Like people dress up like they’re big stars, and walk a red carpet?” Charlotte suggested, before reaching across the table to pat Bayley’s hand. “I’ll make sure my dad makes a donation. I can’t have my friend attending a lame prom party.” 

“You’re a genius, and I appreciate the support, Charlie.” Bayley loved Charlotte’s dad, he had always been out there but he was a good guy. “Do you have any plans for your own prom?”

Charlotte gave a shrug. “With how insane my dad’s schedule is, I don’t know if I am going to prom. With my luck that’ll be the weekend he decided to take our family ski trip.” 

“Well if all fails and I’m without a date because Sasha doesn't want to go, maybe you could be my plus one. Or we could all go together, you, Sasha, and I!” Bayley said, her intentions had been to probably ask Sasha to go with her. She wasn’t even sure that prom was Sasha’s scene and didn’t want to get her hopes up. Bayley wasn’t interested in anything other than dancing with her friends, but she did want to experience prom at least once. 

Charlotte just laughed. “I don’t know if your new bestie will want me around. Why don’t we just play it by ear.” 

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Bayley admitted, appreciating that Charlotte was taking Sasha’s feelings into consideration. "I shouldn't commit her to something without asking her first."

"We don't want to give her another reason to hate me." Charlotte attempted to joke. 

"I don't think she hates you, I think her past on the streets has led her to be careful about who she lets into her life. She doesn't trust easily, it has to be earned. Admittedly Sasha can sometimes have too high of an expectation of people, but she's getting better. I know my life is definitely better with her in it." Bayley said, a genuine smile crossing her features. She realized that once again the conversation had turned to Sasha, so she cleared her throat and changed the subject back to Charlotte. "So tell me about this volleyball team, think you can get a scholarship for college?"

\----

Sasha was enjoying her day at the park, the sun was high in the sky but Sasha sat at a picnic table reading a book in the shade. In the distance, she could see Becky playing basketball at the park's court with some of Becky's friends from school. Sasha wasn't particularly fond of Becky's friends but she had slowly gotten used to them and was at least on decent terms with them. She mainly put up with them for her foster sister's sake. 

If Bayley had come into Sasha's life like a wrecking ball, knocking down all of her walls, then Becky came into Sasha's life like a hurricane. Sasha had a secret theory that Becky was some sort of government experiment of what would happen if you mixed a tragic Harry Potter-like backstory, a case of energy drinks, and a bad stand up comedian like Carrot Top. Becky was over the top, loud, occasionally confrontational, and a bit of a slob when it came to organization. Yet there was not a single doubt in Sasha's mind that her life would feel emptier if she didn't have Becky. 

The two of them shared an understanding and a bond that not many people would. They knew what it was like to struggle for food, what it was like to have to be on alert at all times. They knew what it felt like to have to put up a facade so that nobody else could hurt you. Sasha loved Bayley and respected her, but Becky could relate to her in a different way. Becky didn't look at her like she was made of glass, didn't flinch away when Sasha talked about her time on the streets. They had both done a lot of crappy things to survive, things that Sasha didn't want to tell Bayley about for fear that she might be judged, but she knew that if she told Becky, the other teen would understand. 

Sasha had picked pockets, stolen from stores and unlocked cars. She had dug in trash cans, slept in park benches and in ghetto public bathrooms. She had fallen asleep in the back of public buses, behind bushes. Sasha had witnessed a lot of things a lot of horrible things, most of which she tried to push down and not think about. None of that stuff she was proud of or wanted to admit to Bayley for fear that her best friend might think less of her. She knew Becky wouldn't think less of her though, no doubt Becky had done a lot of the same things. 

Sighing heavily, Sasha tried to focus on her book. It was a murder mystery book she had picked up from the school library and she was excited to read it. Being in the park still gave her a weird feeling after what had gone down with Ronda and her friends, but Sasha knew Becky was nearby and would have her back if something went down. 

"You're a hard person to get a hold of, did you know that?" 

A shiver ran up Sasha's spine as she felt the table creak. She slowly lowered her book and found a familiar face staring at her. Sasha's mother looked older, the woman's once warm eyes had become cold and distant, constantly moving as if the woman was paranoid. Sasha supposed that her mother probably was paranoid, that's what heavy addiction did to people. 

"Aren't you going to say something little girl? Care to tell me why you haven't been answering my letters, seems to me you can read." The woman said nodding to the book in Sasha's hands. 

Sasha slowly lowered her book and fixed her mother with a stare. "What do you want Alicia?" 

Alicia's eyes narrowed, finally focusing in on Sasha. "Alicia? Really, we're going to play it like that. Alright then Sasha, what's a matter with you. I've been trying to get into contact with you, do you not know how to write?" 

"I have nothing to say to you," Sasha said firmly. Internally she was starting to panic a bit, seeing her mother was bringing back a lot of bad memories. "You need to leave me alone," Sasha added, starting to rise from the table.

"Sit your butt down, I'm talking to you." Alicia snapped, grabbing a hold on Sasha's wrist to prevent her from leaving. "I didn't bust my butt in rehab for sixty days for you to disrespect me, little girl. Who in God's green earth do you think you are?"

Sasha could feel her mother's nails starting to dig into her skin. "Let. Me. Go. Now!" Sasha hissed, her free hand balling into a fist at her side. Paul had been teaching her a few self-defense moves at home and while she didn't want to use them on her mom, she wasn't about to let the women hurt her. 

Alicia snorted in contempt at Sasha's display of defiance. "Ohh you have a backbone now, do you?" She roughly shoved Sasha back, sending the off-balanced teenager flailing backward over the bench of the picnic table. 

Sasha landed on her butt in the dirt, eyes wide with shock as she stared up at her mother. Alicia looked just as shocked that she had done that and frowned, moving around to Sasha's side of the table to help her up. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that. You just made me angry, if you would have just listened that wouldn't have happened. Why did you have to act all high and mighty, why can't you just be respectful? it's not that hard Sasha." Alicia said, reaching down to offer Sasha a hand up. 

Flinching away, Sasha scrambled back trying to put some distance between her and her mother. Even though they were in a public place, Sasha was having a flashback to one of the last times she saw her mother. The memory was enough to cause her to start bawling openly.

Her mother had been completely wasted at the time and had cursed Sasha out, throwing the young teenager out of their cheap and seedy hotel room. Sasha had spent that night crying outside the hotel room, begging her mom to let her back in because she was scared of all the strange tweaked out men leering at her. Of course, her mom hadn't let her in and had promptly passed out in the bed. Sasha had run away that night and had never looked back. Her first night sleeping in the park hadn't even been as scary as that night in the hotel hallway.

"Stop doing that, it was an accident. You are just being overdramatic again," Alicia insisted, again reaching for Sasha. Sasha flinched again, closing her eyes and expecting a hit that never came. 

"She said don't touch her!" Becky roared, stepping in between Sasha and Alicia. 

"I'm her mother, this doesn't concern you," Alicia growled, clearly pissed off about Becky's interference. 

"Yeah, well I'm her sister!" Becky shot back, not moving from in front of Sasha. "Now you get to get going before I call the cops. I saw you shove her, my friends did too." Becky said nodding to where a group of teenagers was making their way over to back her up. 

Realizing that she wasn't going to get her way Alicia stomped her foot. "This isn't over Sasha, we need to talk. You owe me that." Alicia called over her shoulder as she stormed out of the park. 

Becky made sure she was gone before slowly sinking to her knees next to a shaking Sasha. "I'm going to hug you now," Becky whispered, wrapping her arms around Sasha. She pulled the smaller girl close and let Sasha fall to pieces against her chest. 

"I just want to go home." Sasha got out between broken sobs. Seeing her mother had really shaken her and she just wanted to go to a familiar place. 

"Do you want me to call Bayley or Stephanie?" Becky offered, knowing they would provide Sasha with better comfort. 

Sasha sniffled and shook her head. "No, just can we go home now?" She pleaded, not wanting Bayley to see her like this. She didn't want Stephanie to get involved either, partly out of the fear that Stephanie wouldn't want her anymore if she made to much trouble.

Becky hummed softly and helped Sasha up. "Yeah, we'll go home. I've got you Sash, she won't hurt you anymore." She whispered, rubbing the girl's back. Becky wasn't sure what Sasha's mother's problem was, but she'd be damned if she was going to let that crazy woman ever hurt her sister again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say thank God for Becky? Leave me a comment, a kudo or something. be sure to subscribe, I live off your words of affirmation.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Becky comforts Sasha after the incident at the park with Sasha's mom.

As soon as they got home from the park, Becky made sure to run Sasha a hot bath with some soothing lavender bath salts and some bubbles. Stephanie had done this for Becky whenever she had caught a cold once, or if she was particularly stressed out and Becky was hoping it would make her sister feel better. 

“Alright, I’ll step outside and wait for you,” Becky said, prepared for Sasha to just need some alone time to process everything. From watching Sasha's interactions with others, Becky had picked up on the fact that Sasha had to have time to think otherwise she would act impulsively.

Sasha immediately latched on to her wrist. “Don’t go. I mean like leave so I can get undress but maybe could you sit against the door.” Sasha knew it was a weird request but she didn’t want Becky to leave her. Besides with the way the bathroom was laid out, there would still be a wall blocking Becky’s view of her. 

Becky hesitated for a second and then shrugged. “Yeah, okay. Whatever you need.” She moved to sit by the door, keeping her eyes glued to the title. She knew that she couldn’t see Sasha, but she didn’t want to even risk it. 

“You know the first time I took a hot shower at Bayley’s house I cried. I forgot what it felt like to be that clean. The school showers were nice, but they never really got past being barely warm.” Sasha commented as she grabbed a towel. She made sure she was out of Becky’s line of sight, before stripping down and climbing in the bathtub. 

“After my parents died, I got shipped around a lot. I learned to take fast showers, being in the shower meant being vulnerable.” Becky answered. She kept her eyes closed and leaned her head back against the bathroom door. “I promised myself I would never allow anybody to hurt me or put myself in a situation where I would be vulnerable like that.” 

Sasha sank further into the bathtub and sighed, staring up at the ceiling. “I’m sorry about your parents.” 

“I’m sorry about your mom. She seems like a real peach.” Becky muttered softly. 

“She wasn’t always like that. I have fond memories of being a young child and her taking me to the library. Probably around the time I was five or six is when she started developing an addiction.” Sasha could still feel the way her mother’s fingernails had dug into her skin. She wanted to scrub until every cell of her mother was off of her. 

Becky gave a thoughtful hum but didn’t interrupt Sasha. She knew it was important for Sasha to process and work through everything on her own time. 

“I used to hope and dream that she’d come back to me sober. But I don’t think I could ever trust her to maintain it. You saw how she was today, she was even worse during the last year I lived with her.” Sasha continued. She shivered despite the heat of the water. “She got angry and locked me out of our hotel. My mom was spinning out in her addiction and she tossed me out into the hallway of a rundown hotel. I could have been murdered or hurt, and I doubt she would have cared. I realized a long time ago that I would always come in second place to her addiction.” 

“You are worth more than that Sasha, I hope you realize that now. You shouldn’t be second place to an addiction. You don’t have to see her anymore, we can tell Stephanie and she’ll keep you safe.” Becky just wanted to hold her foster sister and take the pain away. She didn’t know how to properly convey just how sorry she was that Sasha had to suffer through all the things that had happened to her. 

“I don’t want to rock the boat. What if Stephanie decides that I’m more trouble than I’m worth?” Sasha asked, her voice cracking. 

A deep frown settled on Becky’s cheeks. “I am not the smartest cookie in the world Sasha, but I know that Stephanie and Paul love you. I can tell you from experience that when it comes to them, there are no givebacks. Their love is unconditional.” 

Sasha had to blink away the tears that were threatening to fall. “What if I am the straw that breaks the camel's back?” 

Becky snorted softly. “Sasha, they won’t give up on you. Their love doesn’t have an expiration date, believe me, I’ve asked. When I first got here, I was probably more of a handful than you could ever be. I tried to run away once after I broke one of Stephanie’s casserole dishes.” 

“How far did you make it?” Sasha asked, genuinely curious. 

Becky’s face softened. “I made it about half a mile before I realized Paul was following me in his police cruiser. He scared me half to death when he pulled up beside me. He didn’t yell at me, didn’t force me in the car. Instead, he asked if I wanted to grab an ice cream and talk things out over a banana split. Then if I decided I still wanted to leave, he’d give me enough money for a bus ticket and for a night at a decent hotel.” 

“Clearly you didn’t leave?” Sasha almost couldn’t imagine that sort of kindness. It touched her heart though, knowing that there were good examples of what parents could be. "What did he do to get you to stay? Bribe you?"

“Nah, he let me vent out all my fears over that Banana Split. He even let me eat both cherries and didn’t complain about it. I knew then that I was safe with him and Stephanie. They can be stern at times, but it’s only because they care. They want you to trust them and let them be the parents, they try to give us a shot at being normal I guess.” Becky wasn’t sure how else to phrase it. She let out a soft sigh. “I am glad you’re my sister if it makes any difference.” 

Sasha climbed out of the bath and wrapped herself in a towel. She felt a little better now. “I am glad you’re my sister too. Aside from Bayley, and being fostered by Stephanie and Paul, you might be one of the best things to ever happen to me.” Sasha attempted to joke, managing a weak smile. 

“Third on the list? I’ll take it!” Becky said giggling softly. 

“After I get dressed, do you maybe want to watch a movie?” Sasha asked. Neither her or Becky were really the cuddling type, but Sasha was feeling the need to be held. 

Becky stood up and shifted awkwardly. “Yeah, okay. Maybe we could build a fort, the blankets will keep the bad stuff away.” She said rubbing the back of her neck. “Do you want me to call Bayley? I know she’s better at the comforting part.” 

Again Sasha shook her head. “No, I think I’d be fine with just you being near. We don’t have to cuddle, but it’d be nice to have you close.” 

“We can cuddle if you want.” Becky folded her arms over her chest, trying to weigh her words carefully. “I guess I’m just not used to a lot of physical contact with others. I mean on the soccer pitch, but that is different.” 

Sasha raised a brow. “I don’t enjoy it much either, but I guess Bayley’s been warming me up to it. She really likes to hug people and sometimes it feels nice to just have somebody hold you and tell you it’s gonna be okay.” 

“Alright, I’ll cuddle you then. But you better not tell anybody I am doing this. I have a reputation to upkeep you know.” Becky warned, narrowing her eyes playfully at Sasha. 

“I won’t tell a soul,” Sasha promised, pushing past her to get dressed. “In exchange for my silence though, will you go make us some popcorn for the movie?” 

Becky let out a playful groan. “Cuddles and popcorn? You’re really milking this thing.” Becky teased, flashing a warm smile to show she was just teasing her. “Alright put some clothes on and I’ll be back with popcorn for the movie Sasha.” 

“Extra butter, please?! I promise to love you forever and not ask you for anything else for the rest of the night. Also, do you know if we have pudding cups, if so can you bring me one?” Sasha pleaded, mainly just to mess with Becky a little bit. 

Becky rolled her eyes as she walked out of the room. “I’m not your fairy god Becky.” She called over her shoulder, earning a laugh from Sasha. 

The redhead couldn’t deny it felt good to hear her sister laugh, she had been worried about Sasha’s mental state. Part of her felt proud that she had managed to help Sasha through it without having to call in the big guns like Stephanie or Bayley. Becky knew she would still probably need to at least let one of them know, but for now, she felt capable of comforting Sasha on her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter was a little bit shorter than normal, but I felt like this scene was all this chapter needed. Becky comforting Sasha and being there for her was an important bonding moment. It really goes to show how far Sasha has come, letting somebody outside of Bayley get close to her. 
> 
> Shoutout to my friend Hunter for always hyping me up when it comes this story. He's the kind of friend we should all aspire to be, and count ourselves lucky if we have.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bayley gets some news and when she doesn't share it with Sasha, it leads to trouble.

Bayley sat at her kitchen table, she had been making pancakes for Charlotte who was still staying over, but something had grabbed her attention. The envelope and letter from Penn State lay open in front of her. Bayley wasn’t sure how many times she had read the letter trying to process what the words meant.

She had been accepted for early admittance to her dream college. She was going to be able to skip her senior year. A million different thoughts were going through her head as she tried to get a read on how she was actually feeling about the whole situation. 

Penn State thought she was worth it. She could go there and pursue an eventual degree in law. It was an amazing opportunity, but it also came with some drawbacks. She wouldn’t get to walk stage or have any of the senior rites-of-passage with Sasha and Becky. She would miss out on Senior trip, Senior Sunrise, stuff that she had been looking for and planning for. 

Then there was leaving and going states away. She wouldn’t have her family or her friends, and sure she could make brand new ones, but it was a lot to digest. No doubt her parents were going to be proud of her, they placed a high value on education, but all Bayley wanted to do was hide the letter. 

Unfortunately for her, she didn’t get the chance before Charlotte snuck up behind her. Bayley hadn’t heard the blonde come down the stairs or heard her approaching until Charlotte was picking up the letter. 

“What’s this?” 

“N-Nothing.” Bayley startled, trying to grab the letter from her friend. “Just a letter, it’s personal.” 

Charlotte handed the letter back to Bayley and gave her a curious look. “Did you get rejected or something? I didn’t know you applied for Penn State.” 

Bayley hesitated before shaking her head. “No, I didn’t get rejected. I got an early admittance letter. I want to get my bachelor's in criminal science, but I want to one day be a lawyer. I think I’d be good at it.” Bayley said, staring down at the table. 

Charlotte hooked a finger under Bayley’s chin and forced her friend to meet her eyes. “I think you’d be good at it too. You should be excited, why do you look like somebody murdered your puppy?” 

“Because I hate change, I am not sure how my parents will react, how my friends will react…” Bayley trailed off. 

“You are worried about how Sasha will react?” Charlotte finished for her and sighed. “Look I know Sasha is your best friend, but in the words of Cristina Yang, ‘You can’t let what she wants, eclipse what you need’. Statistically, most high school friendships don’t last beyond the halls, but knowing you I think you’ll manage to hang on to that friendship. Talk to her.” Charlotte encouraged. 

“I just don’t want her to think I’m abandoning her. Everybody else in her life has let her down.” Bayley felt a lot of pressure to be a constant in Sasha’s life. 

Charlotte brushed her thumb over Bayley’s cheek. “You’ve been there for her a lot and you’ve supported her. Why don’t you give her a chance to rise to the occasion and support you in return? A good friendship is equal, give her a chance.” Charlotte said, tapping Bayley’s nose with her finger. 

Bayley knew Charlotte was right and that she needed to talk to Sasha. She had never been good at keeping secrets and maybe it would hurt less if she told Sasha sooner rather than later. “Alright, maybe I can see if she has some free time later. I want her to get to know you too, maybe Becky will want to hang out and we can all just chill together.” 

“If you need me to buffer I will, but just be aware that Sasha still doesn’t like me yet,” Charlotte warned, not wanting to make Sasha feel like a cornered animal. 

“It’ll be fine, it’ll work out,” Bayley said, though she sounded like she was trying to reassure herself more than anything else. She put the letter into her purse and stood up. "Let's go talk to them." 

\----

When Bayley arrived at the Levesques’ household, she saw that Stephanie and Hunter were outside grilling, while the youngest three daughters were swimming in the pool. She gave them a small wave and dragged Charlotte over. 

“Hello Stephanie, Hunter. I was wondering if Becky and Sasha would be able to hang out with us. This is my friend Charlotte Flair.” Bayley said, introducing them to each other. 

Hunter’s eyes widened. “Flair as in Ric Flair? The wrestler?” 

Charlotte chuckled and nodded. “Yes, sir Ric is my dad.” She was used to people recognizing her father. “We moved away last year, but I came back to visit Bayley.” 

Stephanie placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder, a sign that he should probably not bother Charlotte. “It’s lovely to meet you, and the girls are up in the loft. You can ask them if they’d like to hang out, that’s fine. Where are you all going?” Stephanie asked curiously. Becky and Sasha were her kids and she wanted to have a general idea of where they’d be. 

“I was thinking we might go to Fun Works, maybe ride some go-karts and play some putt-putt golf, or video games,” Bayley explained, giving them a warm smile. 

Stephanie hesitated for a moment, before nudging Hunter. “Give Bayley some money for the girls. If Sasha and Becky want to go, that’s fine. Just let them know we’ll be there to pick them up in like four hours.” 

“Of course, thank you,” Bayley said, grabbing two twenties from Hunter. Sometimes it paid off to have a reputation as the responsible and reliable one. Parents usually tended to trust Bayley, which was fine by her. 

Charlotte followed Bayley into the house. “This is a nice home.” 

“Yeah, Hunter and Stephanie are nice people. They take really good care of Sasha, which is why I like them.” Bayley mused, she walked up the stairs towards Sasha and Becky’s bedroom in the loft and knocked on the door. 

Sasha opened it and looked surprised to see Bayley and even more surprised to see Charlotte. “Hey, what are you doing here Bay?”

“I was wondering if you and Becky would like to come with me and Charlotte to the Fun Works arcade,” Bayley replied wiggling her eyebrows playfully, as she held up the cash that Paul had given them. “Stephanie and Hunter said it was cool with them if you two wants to go.” 

Sasha stepped back and allowed Charlotte and Bayley into the room. Becky was in the corner, flipping through a comic book but gave a small wave. “If Becky wants to go, then I’m down,” Sasha replied, not wanting to third wheel Bayley and Charlotte. 

“Sure, I’ll go. I like go-karts.” Becky said, putting her comic book down. She could sense that if she went it would put her sister at more ease. 

“It’s a nice day you guys feel like walking?” Bayley asked looking between them all. She could tell that something was up with Sasha but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She chalked it up to Sasha possibly being a little uncomfortable around Charlotte. 

“A walk is good.” Sasha grabbed a jacket and followed Bayley back down the stairs. She made sure to say goodbye to Hunter and Stephanie, she didn’t want them to worry about her.

The group walked in silence towards the arcade with Bayley leading the way. Charlotte had been right next to Bayley, which left Sasha and Becky bringing up the rear, but the blonde had some other plans. She slowed up her pace and fell in step with Sasha.

“Hey, do you mind if we talk for a second?” Charlotte asked quietly, she wanted to clear the air between her and Sasha. “Please, just for a moment?”

Becky studied her sister’s face, gauging Sasha’s reaction and waiting for Sasha to give her a nod. Only after Becky was sure Sasha was okay with it, did she move. “I have to talk to Bayley anyways, I’ll be just up ahead,” Becky said, knowing she would be keeping an eye on Sasha as well. If the blond messed with Sasha, then Becky wouldn’t hesitate to handle the taller girl. 

“She’s really protective of you?” Charlotte managed a nervous laugh, the redhead kind of made her feel a little uneasy. 

“I’m protective of Becky too, is that what you wanted to talk about?” Sasha asked, burying her hands in her back pockets. She felt uncomfortable but she was willing to hear Charlotte out for Bayley’s sake. There had to be something good about the blonde if Bayley was so close to her. 

“No, what I wanted to talk about was this weird tension between us. Bayley is one of my best friends and I know she’s one of yours as well. I am sorry that I showed up unannounced that day and made her late to the park. I am sorry you got hurt, but I know that Bayley loves you.” Charlotte wasn’t sure if she was getting through to Sasha, but she was trying. 

“It’s not your fault and it’s not Bayley’s either, we talked our issues out,” Sasha said, trying not to stiffen as she remembered the beating Ronda had given her. It had been a crappy situation but she had ended up with a good foster family out of the whole thing. Even though it had ended happy, she didn’t exactly want to relieve it. 

Charlotte let out a soft sigh. “I would like to be your friend Sasha. I can see how much you mean to Bayley, she’s always talking about you. You seem like the kind of person I’d enjoy being friends with.” 

Sasha hesitated, she didn’t let people in that quickly. “I am not sure we can be best friends, but I agree with what you said. I know you mean a lot to Bayley and she’s usually a good judge of character. So I’m willing to try and be friends.” 

A smile broke out across Charlotte’s face. “That’s good enough for me.” 

Sasha managed a small smile. “I saw some pictures of you guys as kids in her treehouse, do you have any embarrassing memories?” Sasha asked. 

“Oh, I have loads of stories.” Charlotte’s smile widened. “Did she ever tell you about the time her tooth was loose and we had this great idea to pull it out by tying floss around it and a doorknob?” 

Sasha looked horrified. “Did it pull her tooth out?”

Charlotte nodded slowly. “Yeah, but Bayley started crying because she thought she’d get in trouble for doing it herself.” 

“What did you guys do?” Sasha was curious now, she didn’t really see Bayley’s parents as the angry types. 

“Her Abuelita cleaned up the blood and consoled Bayley who was crying. Abuelita just told Bayley’s dad that she pulled it.” Charlotte mused. 

A fond look entered Sasha’s eyes, she really loved Bayley’s Abuelita, because of how much the woman cared about everybody. “She’s a good lady.” 

“She really is,” Charlotte said nodding in agreement. 

Bayley for her part was doing her best not to listen to Sasha and Charlotte’s conversation. She wanted them to build a friendship on their own terms and without her interference. Bayley already knew that if she butted in, it wouldn’t end well. 

“Hey Bay, I need to tell you something,” Becky said quietly, tapping Bayley’s arm. “I don’t think Sasha will tell you, because she’s embarrassed but as her best friend I think you have a right to know. Her mom confronted her the other day.” 

A cold chill ran up the back of Bayley’s spine. She had noticed that Sasha seemed more reserved but she had just chalked it up to Sasha may be feeling a little awkward because of Sasha. “What happened?” 

Becky hesitated not wanting to betray her sister’s trust. “Sasha will have to tell you the story, it’s not mine to tell. I just think she could use one of your hugs. Her mom wasn’t very nice to her.” 

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll talk with Sasha later, maybe try and give her that hug when we get to the arcade.” Bayley said softly. She didn’t know what Sasha’s mom had done, but the idea of anybody hurting her best friend made Bayley angry. She didn’t understand how anybody could abandon Sasha. Bayley made a decision right then and there to not spoil the day by telling Sasha about her early admittance letter, clearly, her friend was going through a lot, and Bayley didn’t want to make it worse. 

\----

Thankfully once the group got to Fun Works, they were able to cut loose and let all of the negative things bothering them fall to the wayside. As a couple of hours passed Becky, in particular, seemed rather enthusiastic about beating Charlotte in a go-kart race. Bayley was thankful that they were all getting along, Charlotte seemed to be enjoying having somebody to compete with, which left Sasha and Bayley to themselves for the most part. 

"Take a walk with me Sash?" Bayley asked quietly, holding up two clubs for putt-putt golf. 

Sasha nodded and took the blue club from Bayley, following her friend out onto the course. "You know I didn't think I would get along with Charlotte, but she's actually kind of okay. Don't tell her I said that though." 

Bayley just gave a knowing smile. "I won't tell her. I am glad that we can all hang out like this." She allowed Sasha to go first, trying to think of how to bring up what Becky had mentioned. "I feel like we haven't talked the past couple of days, are you doing okay?" 

Glancing over her shoulder, Sasha gave her a curious look. "Yeah, I mean why wouldn't I be?" 

"Becky might have mentioned you were going through some stuff, she wouldn't tell me what, but I just want you to know I'm here for you Sasha. You don't have to go through anything by yourself, we're a team." Bayley said, watching as Sasha knocked the golf ball down the green and into the hole. 

Sasha stiffed a little bit and turned her whole attention to Bayley. "My mom showed up and put her hands on me. Becky rescued me, but it kind of shook me up." 

"You could have called me, I would have dropped everything and been there for you," Bayley said meeting Sasha's gaze. 

"It's not fair of me to expect you to do that though. Becky helped me, besides you were busy with Charlotte. You hardly get to see her, it wouldn't have been right for me to demand you come to my aid." Sasha hadn't wanted to interfere with Bayley's plans. "Besides it's really not that big of a deal." 

"Anything that hurts you like that is a big deal to me, Sasha." Bayley reached for her best friend's hand. "You can tell me anything. We're a team." She gave Sasha's hand a squeeze and then went to take her turn. 

Sasha was about to respond when she saw an envelope sticking out of Bayley's purse. "Hey, what's that? It looks like it's about to fall out." Sasha said moving to help Bayley when the taller girl stumbled back. "Why are you being weird?"

Bayley hesitated for a moment, debating on whether or not to tell Sasha the truth. She had wanted some time to think it all over before she spilled her guts to Sasha about college acceptance letter. "I am not being weird. It's nothing." 

"You just made this whole speech about me being able to tell you anything. Why won't you tell me?" Sasha asked, starting to get a little frustrated. 

"Because it's not a big deal, don't make it one. Just leave it alone, it doesn't concern you, Sasha." Bayley said sharply. She watched the hurt expression cross Sasha's face and frowned. "Wait, I didn't mean that." 

Sasha stared down at the ground, trying to keep herself from reacting. Bayley wasn't the type to snap at her, which made Sasha even more confused. "Sounded like you meant it." 

Bayley sighed and ran a hand through her hair. This wasn't how she wanted things to go with Sasha, it wasn't how she wanted to tell her. "I am sorry Sasha. I-... I got an early acceptance letter from Penn State. I got in and I didn't want to tell you, because I didn't want you looking at me like you are right now." 

Sasha stared at Bayley, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Did you tell Charlotte?" 

"She was there when I got the letter," Bayley admitted sheepishly. 

"I'm not a child Bayley, I wish you would have just told me straight up. You didn't think I could handle it? I handled my life for sixteen years by myself, I'm not fragile." Sasha said, her temper starting to flare up. She wasn't sure why it hurt so bad that Bayley was trying to shield her from it. 

"I didn't say that Sasha. I was trying to take your feelings into account. I was going to come over and tell you, I planned on telling you, but then Becky mentioned you were already going through stuff. I just didn't want to overload you." Bayley said, trying to explain her side. "I didn't want you to feel like I was abandoning you." 

"So you were just going to lie then? Not tell me you were leaving until the day before?" Sasha let out a bitter laugh, hating the fact that she was getting emotional. "I thought we told each other everything?" 

Bayley frowned deeply. "Please Sasha, be reasonable. I was going to tell you, I just found out today myself. I was trying to do the right thing." 

Sasha dropped the putter and crossed her arms over her chest. She could feel the beginnings of a panic attack. "You always try to do the right thing, Bayley. But just because you think it's the right thing to do, doesn't mean it is. You would have abandoned me at some point." 

"That's not true!" Bayley protested, shaking her head. She reached for Sasha's hand again, but the other teenager pulled away. "I want you to be happy for me Sasha." 

"I am happy for you Bayley, truly I am. But clearly, if you feel like you can't tell me things, then this friendship isn't as strong as I thought it was." Sasha said, sniffling.

Oblivious to the awkward tension, Becky and Charlotte had made their way over. "Sasha, Hunter is here to pick us up. Look what I won!" Becky said holding up a stuffed hippo plushie. "Charlotte helped me win it, but I did most of the hard work." 

"Of course you did." Charlotte deadpanned though there was no real bite in her tone. 

"Can you guys give us a minute, we were in the middle of an important talk," Bayley said, trying to shoo Becky and Charlotte away, so she and Sasha could finish talking. 

"No, I think we are done here. It was nice to see you Charlotte, come on Becky...our family is waiting." Sasha didn't even give anybody time to protest, she instead took Becky's hand and dragged her away from Bayley without so much as a goodbye. 

Charlotte watched them go and then turned to look at Bayley, who was near tears. "What the heck just happened?" 

Bayley couldn't even find the words to describe it. Instead, she just stepped into Charlotte's embrace and cried. She wasn't even sure what she had done wrong, but the way Sasha had looked at her, utterly betrayed, had broken her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're all enjoying the story still. Who is your favorite character?


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Becky conspires to bring Baysha's friendship back together.

Becky allowed Sasha exactly two days of sulking before she confronted her sister about what was really going on. Sometimes figuring out what was going on with Sasha and Bayley’s friendship, made Becky feel like she should have been watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians instead. She wasn’t judging or anything, but it always felt like there was a little bit of underlying tension or drama. 

Two days she had allowed the two to act weird around each other. It was painfully obvious that Bayley and Sasha were avoiding each other, without actually admitting that they were avoiding each other. So Becky gave them two days to figure it out for themselves before she finally grew irritated enough to intervene. 

She knew Sasha would be in class and so Becky cornered Bayley who was on her way to gym class and dragged her into the locker room. 

“What are you doing?” Bayley asked, yelping as Becky shoved her into the supply closet of the locker room. 

Becky stared down her friend and crossed her arms over her chest. “I am getting you to talk. What the heck is going on between you and Sasha? Ever since we all went to Fun Works, you guys have been acting strangely. Sasha has hardly slept in days, and you look like you've been crying. Is this a friendship break up or something, what did you do to my sister, or what did she do to you?” Becky knew Sasha would be pissed about her confronting Bayley, but Becky had grown frustrated with Sasha not handling her own issues. 

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” Bayley said, shifting awkwardly. She had been avoiding Sasha, trying to give the girl space but also trying to be around enough that Sasha didn’t feel like Bayley was ducking her. 

Becky’s eyes narrowed slightly and she was torn between wanting to throttle Bayley but also wanting to respect what appeared to be a private matter. “Look, you don’t have to tell me what’s going on. But as your friend and Sasha’s sister, whatever it is, it sucks balls. Do you hear me, Bayley, this sucks balls.” Becky said, gesturing widely about the room. 

Bayley bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. She hated fighting with Sasha, it didn’t feel good at all. She hadn’t expected to be ‘kidnapped’ by Becky, but she supposed the redheaded firecracker would have resorted to it at some time. 

“I hurt Sasha’s feelings…” Bayley quickly put up her hands, to defend from the sudden fire that lit in Becky’s eyes. She admired Sasha’s sister’s protectiveness, but she preferred it not to be aimed at her. “I didn’t tell her something that I should have. I was going to tell her, I just didn’t think it was the right time, and then she found out anyways.” 

“You’re dating the blondie!” Becky said, her eyes wide. 

“Charlotte? Ew no!” Bayley scoffed and lightly punched Becky’s arm. “No, I wouldn’t date Charlotte. That’s...that’s not a thing.” Bayley muttered seemingly offended that Becky had suggested it. 

Becky scowled and rubbed the back of her arm, muttering under her breath. “Okay, so it’s not about Charlotte. What didn’t you tell her?” 

Bayley shifted her weight uncomfortably and began to pace, although there wasn’t much room in the closet. She had meant it when she said she didn’t want to talk about it, but maybe getting Becky’s opinion would give her some perspective. 

“I got early admittance to Penn State,” Bayley said quietly. 

“That’s great!” Becky flashed a wide smile. “When do you leave?”

“If I accept, I’d leave before the end of summer. I would miss our senior year.” Bayley replied, turning to give Becky a sheepish look. “I got the letter the day I came to talk to you guys. Then you mentioned Sasha was having a hard time already and so I planned on telling her later. She found the letter and it threw me off guard. I said some stuff I shouldn’t have.” Bayley glanced at the ground, glaring a hole at it. 

Becky could see where things might have gotten derailed. “Sasha assumed the worst then?” 

Bayley gave a single nod. “I didn’t want her to feel abandoned, but I think by handling her with kid gloves I offended her. She is my best friend, I know she’ll be okay if I go, but I just don’t want to be yet another person who has let her down. I feel like I’m fighting a losing battle.” 

“Look I think you two need to sit down and maybe talk things out. I can be there as a buffer if you want, but you probably need to squash this before it gets out of hand. Letting something like this fester is only going to bring resentment.” Becky had been in Hunter and Stephanie’s house long enough to have picked up some of their healthier coping strategies. 

“I feel horrible for saying the things I did. I didn’t mean to hurt Sasha. I had all these plans for our senior year. I was hoping we’d make all those special senior moments together.” Bayley said, finally meeting Becky’s eyes. 

Becky nodded, she had talked to Sasha about it, and her sister had seemed to be looking forward to senior year. “Well, I think you two are smart enough and strong enough to figure it out. Speaking of special moments, I was going to ask Sasha to go with me to prom.” Becky said, her gaze searching as she studied Bayley. 

Bayley’s eyes widened and she looked stunned for a second before she schooled her features into a more neutral expression. “You aren’t going with your soccer buddies?”

“Nope.” Becky said popping the ‘p’ in the word. “Sasha deserves something nice, so I thought I’d ask her.” 

“Oh, um...I bet Sasha would love that.” Bayley gave her best smile. 

Becky nodded. “Look I’ll talk to Sasha after school and I’ll send her your way. Maybe meet her in your treehouse. You guys can talk everything out.” 

“Thanks, Becky.” Bayley turned to leave before Becky caught her wrist. 

“Bayley, I want you to realize that Sasha might be okay when you leave, but you do make her life better. She smiles brightest with you, you saved her before the rest of us even got a chance to make an impact. Without you, I am not sure Sasha would have survived Ronda or a lot of the crap she’s been through. So thank you for saving my sister.” Becky tugged her into a tight hug, before stepping back. 

"Sasha is tough, she would have saved herself. She's kind of awesome like that." Bayley sniffled and hurriedly wiped at her eyes, not wanting to cry in front of Becky. She felt like she hadn’t really stopped crying since the fight with Sasha had gone down. “Will you make sure she saves a dance with me at prom?” 

An amused glint entered Becky’s eyes as she studied Bayley. “I have a feeling she will save more than one dance for you Bay. Now get to class, it doesn’t look good for the student body president to be tardy.”

\----

"Where are we going?" Sasha asked, trying to dig her feet into the dirt so Becky would stop dragging her. Her sister had grabbed her right after class and was seriously interrupting her brooding time. Sasha had been planning to go home, do some homework, and sulk in silence. Maybe it was a little bit of an overreaction but Sasha was still upset about how things had gone down with Bayley. Becky gave a playfully annoyed huff and turned to look at her. Slowly, Becky pointed at a large sign in the distance, that read 'AJ Styles: Phenomenal Pastries' 

"Are we going to the donut shop?" Sasha tried not to get her hopes up. 

She had a little bit of a sweet tooth but rarely indulged unless Bayley or her foster parents were around. When she had been homeless, she had often stayed close to the pastry shop. If AJ was feeling generous, which he often was, he'd give her a bagel or a donut before school and some hot chocolate on the wintery days. Sasha would always try to save up some change so she could pay him back, but he somehow always snuck it back to her and just joked about putting it on her tab. 

Becky nodded and continued leading the way, thankful that she was no longer having to tug Sasha behind her. She too had received some of the Phenomenal Ones kindness, AJ had rescued Becky from a scuffle or two outside of his shop. He and his wife had cleaned up Becky's scrapes, gave her some donut holes, and sent her on her way. They never asked too many questions, just provided a safe haven when Becky was trying to hide from Ronda's cronies. AJ had even promised to write her a letter of recommendation for college and give her work experience if she needed it. 

"Can I ask why we're going to the donut shop?" Sasha asked again, and this time thankfully Becky did answer her. 

"It's a surprise," Becky deadpanned.

Sasha rolled her eyes, but as she stepped into the donut shop a feeling of happiness hit her. She hadn't seen AJ in a while and she knew she was doing better. Hunter and Stephanie were taking good care of her, she didn't look as gaunt as she had on the streets. A feeling of pride blossomed in her chest because she knew AJ would be impressed. She pulled out her wallet, plucking out a five-dollar bill. It wouldn't make up for all the money he had spent on her, but she could at least say she was paying down her tab or paying it forward for the next kid. 

The pastry shop smelled of freshly baked goods and hot chocolate. Sasha had never had hot chocolate as good as the kind AJ made, although Bayley's Abuelita had made her some and it was definitely a close second. 

"Well look at this, my prodigal sheep return," AJ said with a friendly smile. "What can I do for you ladies?" 

Becky rolled her eyes. "I am here to pick up that special donut order." 

"Donut order?" Sasha was now thoroughly confused. "It's nice to see you AJ." She said, making sure to wait until AJ's back was turned before slipping the money into the tip jar. 

"Yeah you know how Stephanie and Paul are about donuts, they asked me to pick them up," Becky replied shrugging her shoulders. A sort of mischievous smile flickered across Becky's features as the box of donuts was brought over to them. "Hey Sasha, can you make sure we have the kind that they like in there?"

Sasha was now certain that Becky was acting weird, but did as her sister asked. She opened the box of donuts, her eyes widening as she saw them. They were all her favorite kinds, with lots of sprinkles and cake-looking donuts. As she lifted the lid, she realized there was writing on the inside. 

'Roses are red  
Donuts are the bomb  
Do me a favor   
and come with me to prom?'

Stunned and speechless, Sasha turned to look at Becky, trying to see if this was some kind of a joke. Instead, Becky was just staring back with her with a warm smile that looked hopeful. 

"Will you go to junior prom with me, Sasha?" Becky asked she was starting to get nervous about the silence. "Do you not like it? I mean I know you were probably going to go with Bayley-"

"Shush," Sasha said, surging forward and hugging the taller teenager. "I would love to go to prom with you. This was very thoughtful of you Becks." 

Becky tensed in Sasha's arms, but then slowly hugged her back. "It's not lame going with me?" 

Sasha let out a watery laugh. "I've never been asked to a school dance before. Besides, if I go with you, I'll be the coolest one there. I got the star soccer player as my date." 

Becky blushed a little at her sister's praise. "I'm not the star Sasha, but thanks for making me feel better. I'll be a good prom date." She promised. 

"I know you will," Sasha replied, giving her a gentle squeeze before moving back. "You're going to help me eat all these donuts right?" 

"I was hoping you'd ask." Becky giggled.

\-----

Sasha was in such a great mood that she didn't realize they were taking an alternate path home, didn't seem to notice until they were almost in front of Bayley's house. She had been too busy munching on a donut, but as Bayley's house loomed into view, she realized she had been tricked. 

"What are we doing here?" Sasha asked sharply. 

"Sharing a donut with Bayley," Becky said, glancing at her. "She's in her treehouse waiting for you." 

"You tricked me, W-What if I don't want to share my donuts?" Sasha asked, trying to come up with an excuse not to have to go talk to Bayley. Things were still insanely awkward between them at school and they hadn't really been by themselves since the putt-putt golf incident. 

Becky sighed and placed a hand on Sasha's shoulder. "I didn't mean to trick you Sasha, and I'm sorry. I hate seeing you sad and normally Bayley is what makes you happy. Can you please just talk it out with her, if it doesn't go well, then we'll leave. But I think the friendship that you two have is worth fighting for and not just throwing away over a miscommunication. You both have a lot of strong emotions, maybe it's time to get everything out before you resent each other." Becky was well aware that she was risking pissing off Sasha by interfering, but she was tired of seeing her foster sister moping about. 

Sasha was a little frustrated that Becky had tricked her, but she knew that the girl's heart was in the right place. "Fine, but you stay close." 

"I can do that, I promise," Becky said, crossing her heart. 

Sasha took her notes and carefully scaled the ladder to Bayley's treehouse. When she got up there she wasn't surprised to find Bayley looking a little nervous. 

"Hey." Sasha cleared her throat awkwardly. 

Bayley glanced up at her and Sasha could see that she had been crying. "Hey, Sasha." 

Sasha opened the donut box and offered one to Bayley. "Becky kind of tricked me over here." 

"She cornered me in the locker room today. She's kind of intimidating and devious when she wants to be." Bayley said picking a donut, although she just set it down and didn't eat it. 

"Oh gosh, I am sorry she did that." Sasha blushed, a little embarrassed that Becky had tried to confront Bayley. 

"It's okay, she's just being protective over you. I think she hates both of us being sad." Bayley sighed, trying to work up the courage to get everything out that she needed too. "Sasha, I owe you an apology. I was being a hypocrite by asking you to tell me all of your important stuff, and not doing the same for you. I thought that by trying to spare your feelings, I was being a good friend, but I can see that all it did was hurt you. I am really sorry." 

Sasha studied Bayley for a long moment, before glancing down at the donut box. "I'm sorry to Bayley. I overreacted to the news. Truth be told I am really going to miss you if you take the early admittance, but I am proud of you. You are my best friend, my life is better with you in it. You are one of the best people I have ever met." Sasha took a deep breath, trying to allow herself to be vulnerable. 

"You are my best friend too," Bayley said, meaning it with every fiber of her body and soul. "I was going to tell you that day, but then I found out what was going on with you and your mom. So I thought I'd hold off a little bit. When you found the letter it caught me off guard and I felt put on the defensive. I shouldn't have snapped at you, I should have just told you from when you first asked, and it wouldn't have escalated." 

"Bayley, I've never been good with change. I feel like I've spent a good portion of my life, always having to adapt and being forced to change my life on a dime. You were probably one of the first things in my life that actually felt steady, I want to be that steadying anchor for you too. You are going to do great at Penn State, I believe in you." Sasha said, locking eyes with Bayley. "Can we be friends again, because fighting with you really sucks." 

Bayley nodded and opened her arms up, offering Sasha a hug but allowing her to close the distance if she wanted. "I hate fighting with you too, it really does suck." She said with a watery laugh. "We can be friends again Sasha, best friends. Things change Sasha, it's part of life. What doesn't have to change is you being my best friend. We'll always be a team. I love you, Sasha." 

"I love you too Bayley, and I want to make the most of the time we have before you go," Sasha said looking up at her, as she moved to hug Bayley. "Did you know Becky asked me to Prom?" 

"Yeah, she told me about that. Will you save me a dance?" Bayley asked, dropping a kiss to the top of her best friend's head. 

"I will save you more than one." Sasha nodded against Bayley's chest, just holding her best friend close. "You won't forget about me, while you're at Penn State?" 

"Nah, who could forget about you? I told you when we first became friends that I don't just throw my pudding cups for anybody. You're special Sasha, nobody could take your place. You fit into a piece of my heart that nobody else could occupy." Bayley gave her a gentle squeeze. 

"Hey! Have you guys made up yet? I would like a donut!" Becky called from under the treehouse. "Can I come up there? I really, really want a donut." 

Sasha burst into laughter. "Should we put her out of her misery and let her have a donut?" 

Bayley shrugged her shoulders. "Becky did help reunite us and help us get out crap together. So yeah, she can come up here and have a donut." 

"Bayley says you can come up," Sasha called down to Becky. As frustrated as she had been that her sister had tricked her, it still meant a lot to her that Becky had done it to try and make things better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know I never went to prom, but if somebody asked me the way Becky asked Sasha I would have totally said yes. I wish somebody would have saved me a dance.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prom chapter

“You’ve been awfully quiet, do you not like the dress? Is it not the right shade of purple, we can try and find a different color if you want too.” 

Sasha stared at herself in the department store mirror and then slowly turned to check out how the back of her prom dress looked. “No that’s not it. The dress is lovely.” Sasha replied as she looked over to meet Stephanie’s gaze. Truly the dress was gorgeous, it was a lovely shade of royal purple and it made Sasha feel like a princess.

Stephanie pursed her lips and then stepped forward to pick some lint off of the dress. She could tell something was troubling the teenager, but she didn’t want to force her foster daughter to talk about it. “I think the dress looks perfect. I hope Becky and Paul are having luck picking out her suit.” 

“I think she’s a little too eager to wear that suit.” Sasha laughed softly to herself as she recalled Becky almost gloating about the fact that she was going to wear a nice suit tuxedo. Sasha wouldn’t have minded if Becky had worn a dress, but Becky had almost insisted on wearing a suit. 

“As long as she’s expressing herself in a healthy way I don’t care what she wears. You both are going to look amazing.” Stephanie replied, her expression warm as she studied Sasha’s prom dress. “I hope you know I am going to take a million photos tonight before you both leave.” 

Sasha groaned and nodded. “Yeah, I had a feeling you would.” She mumbled, but she wasn’t really mad. Outside of Bayley, she had never had anybody care enough about her to try and document the important moments of her life. That train of thought caused her heart to lurch painfully. 

“What’s wrong sweetie?” Stephanie asked, looking concerned. “Are you okay?” 

“I never thought I’d go to prom, I just feel like everything is changing around me and I’m scared,” Sasha admitted. Even though she was starting to trust Stephanie, there was still this irrational fear that if she proved to be too much trouble, her foster family would send her away. 

“Change is inevitable but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.” Stephanie opened her arms, waiting until Sasha moved closer before she hugged the teen. 

“After I became homeless things like Prom didn’t seem to matter. I was more focused on surviving than actually trying to live my life. Then Bayley came along and you guys entered my life, and for the first time it felt like I wasn’t fighting an entire ocean by myself…” Sasha trailed off, her voice cracking with emotion. 

Stephanie just hugged her a little tighter. “You are a bright young lady with so much to offer the world. I feel very honored to be a part of your story Sasha. I want you to go out tonight and have fun with Becky at prom. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want too or be anything other than your remarkable self. I am proud of you.” Stephanie said, gently wiping away the tears that had started to spill down Sasha’s cheeks. 

Sasha didn’t want to cry but she found that she couldn’t help it. She was pretty sure that her own mother would never have taken her prom dress shopping or put her first like this. Stephanie could be stern, but she also gave Sasha the freedom to just be a teenager and not worry about basic necessities. Sasha didn’t have to doubt her foster parents’ motives, if they said they were going to do something, they would do it. Even if they got frustrated, they never raised a hand at her out of anger. Outside of Bayley’s family, Sasha had never seen families operate in healthy ways like that. 

“Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to be born with you as my mom,” Sasha mumbled. Surely she wouldn’t have had Trevor as her brother and that was something she would have missed. Another testament to the kind of parents the Leveques were, Stephanie had made sure that Sasha got to see her brother more frequently. 

“I may not have been the one to give birth to you Sasha, but you are my daughter. You are part of this family, no matter what. I don’t care how old you get, what college you go to, or what career path you choose. Once a Levesque, always a Levesque.” Stephanie said, dropping a kiss to the top of Sasha’s head. 

For a moment Sasha wanted to point out that technically she wasn’t a Levesque, but she figured now wasn’t the time. It did, however, give her a brief pause as she considered what it would be like to be more than just a foster kid, what it would be like for Steph and Paul to adopt her. As quickly as the thought occurred she tried to push it down, not wanting to get her hopes up. 

“We should go find Becky,” Sasha said, moving to the fitting room to take off the prom dress. “We still have to go home and get ready for tonight.” 

“You both are going to look lovely. I already know.” Stephanie’s voice was coated with pride and joy, she was clearly excited. 

\-----

“I think it needs to be up a little higher,” Bayley muttered as she tried to raise one of the prom banners. Charlotte was on a ladder opposite from Bayley, helping her set up in the gym. Bayley had insisted on adding some last-minute decorations, to what Charlotte thought was already an impressive setup. 

It was more than evident how much time and effort Bayley had put into everything, but Charlotte could sense the unspoken turmoil inside of Bayley. "I think it's good enough Bayley," Charlotte said quietly, she glanced at her wristwatch before climbing down off the ladder. "Can we talk for a second?" 

Bayley stared up at the decoration, clearly wanting to protest and say that she needed to make some last-minute adjustments before prom started, but one look at Charlotte's face and she slowly dismounted from her own ladder. "Sure, what is it, Charlie?" 

"As much fun as it is decorating for your prom, I have to go soon. Before I leave I need to make sure my best friend is okay, do you want to tell me what's bothering you?" Charlotte asked cutting right to the chase. 

"You are going to think it's stupid." Bayley sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Bayley was glad that she had patched things up with Sasha but everything still felt weird. She didn't know how to explain it and she didn't want Charlotte to think that she was just complaining. 

"Try me. I didn't think it was stupid when you decided to bring back the side pony, I doubt that I'll think anything you say is stupid now," Charlotte challenged, folding her arms across her chest. They had been friends long enough for Charlotte to know when Bayley was trying to hide something. "I have known you what feels like my whole life. You should be excited about your prom, but you seem down in the dumps." 

"Prom isn't the issue. I am going to the thing by myself, I thought I'd have a date or something-" Bayley trailed off and just frowned. She didn't want to be the only one at Prom without a date. 

Charlotte stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Bayley, holding the shorter teenager to her chest. "You wanted to ask Sasha to prom?" 

Bayley nodded glumly. "Don't get me wrong I am glad she's going with Becky, but with me leaving to go to Penn State early, I wanted to make this prom meaningful." 

"Who says it still can't be meaningful? Sasha will be here, as will your other friends. Make memories Bayley, but don't let your life pass you by. Sometimes you just gotta make the most of it." Charlotte said, trying to lift her spirits

"What if when I leave Sasha forgets about me? I won't be here to protect her anymore." Bayley mumbled softly. She knew it seemed selfish but she liked being of use to Sasha. Being there to protect Sasha had become something that Bayley relied on because, for as much as she helped Sasha, her best friend helped her too. "I am going to miss her." 

"Then why don't you just tell her that," Charlotte suggested, looking Bayley square in the eyes. "Stop moping about and make the most of the time you two have left together. The bond you two have doesn't always come around a lot in this lifetime. She's your true north right?" 

Bayley didn't even hesitate. "Yeah, life is better when Sasha's around." She didn't even have to think about it. she knew what Sasha's friendship meant to her and in return what her friendship meant to Sasha. 

Charlotte gave her a warm smile. "Then go get dressed and ask your friend to dance with you. Enough sulking Bayley put on your big girl dress and be there for your friend." 

“Okay, I will. Thanks, Charlie.” Bayley said squeezing her friend tightly. “I guess I gotta go get ready then.”

“Good luck kid.” Charlotte squeezed her back. “I’ll call you when I get home. I want pictures from prom!”

Bayley laughed as she moved from Charlotte’s embrace. “I’ll be sure to Snapchat you some.” 

\-----

Becky was actually feeling rather confident in her suit, Hunter had even helped her with her tie. It wasn't that Becky couldn't pull off a dress, she just felt like she'd rather go to prom in a suit. Sasha had been open to whatever Becky wanted to wear so long as they could find a way to somewhat match. 

Becky's suit was a nice shade of purple, not too far off from Sasha's dress and she felt powerful wearing it. Even Sasha had teasingly wolf-whistled at her when Becky had finished getting read. Stephanie had insisted on driving them to the prom and despite her excitement, Becky also felt a little bit nervous. She didn’t want to get judged for wearing a suit or give anybody a reason to laugh at her and Sasha.

Sasha placed a hand on Becky's bouncing knee, stilling her movements and gave her a reassuring smile. "Having doubts about prom?" 

"No, I am glad to be going. I am glad you're my prom date, I just am worried about what everybody else will think of the suit." Becky said shyly. 

Sasha wasn't used to seeing the normally confident Becky acting nervous. For as long as Sasha had known her, her foster sister had always been fearless. Sasha cracked a small smile as she remembered Becky trying to fight Ronda for her. "Don't be dumb Lynch. Everybody is going to love your suit. You look like a million bucks." Sasha promised, giving her sister a gentle hug. "Now put on your best happy face, we got prom pictures to take. 

Becky hugged Sasha back and nodded. "You're right. I do look like a million bucks." Becky mused, trying to hype herself up. "You look gorgeous too, I like the dress. You and Stephanie did a good job picking it out. Also, your makeup is on point." 

Sasha blushed and gave a sheepish shrug. "Yeah well, I don't normally wear that much makeup but Stephanie said it would help complete the look. " She still sucked at taking compliments, but she was trying to get better about it.

Exiting the car first, Becky offered an arm to Sasha. "Come on, let's go do this! I hope the music is good." 

"It's a high school dance, the music is bound to be fifty-fifty." Sasha teased sarcastically, taking Becky's arm. She followed the red-head into the venue, only for her attention to be captured by the gym's decorations. Bayley had apparently gone all out, trying to make everything magical. "Wow." 

"This place looks amazing," Becky said as her jaw dropped as well. There were fairy lights and posters all over the place, the band on stage was actually playing some decent songs as well. "So what do you want to do first?" Becky asked, gesturing around. There was a picture booth, the dance floor, and some finger foods near the punch bowl. 

Sasha thought about it for a moment and then took Becky's hand. "Let's go get our pictures taken. I want to get those over with before I'm all sweaty from dancing." 

Becky chuckled and followed her. "Good thinking boss."

\-------

Bayley shifted uncomfortably as she ran her hands down her dress one last time, trying to smooth down any wrinkles. As the student body president, it was her duty to make an appearance and to thank everybody for coming out. Everybody had liked her speech, but she had mostly been giving it on autopilot. Her eyes had been scanning the crowd looking for her friends and Sasha in particular. 

As Bayley made her way off the stage, she finally spotted her friends stumbling out of the photo booth. For a moment all Bayley could do was just stare, Becky and Sasha's outfits were gorgeous and they looked happy. A warm smile tugged at Bayley's lips as she watched the way that Sasha interacted with not only Becky but some of the other soccer players who had come to talk with her. 

There was no doubt in Bayley's mind that even if Sasha was sad about her going to Penn State, the girl would recover. In the months that Bayley had known her, she had witnessed Sasha coming out of her shell and slowly opening up to people. For a minute Bayley allowed herself to think back to the first night in her treehouse, Sasha drenched from the rain and looking like a scared child. The school years had definitely not gone the way that Bayley had hoped with all the drama with Ronda, but it had given her Sasha so she was thankful. 

She was so lost in her memories that she almost didn't notice that Sasha had spotted her and was making her way over. As Bayley focused back in, she saw Sasha staring at her expectantly and realized that her best friend had said something. Embarrassment blossomed in Bayley's chest and she looked sheepish. 

"I am sorry Sasha, I zoned out. What were you saying?" Bayley asked, staring down at her friend. Now that Sasha was closer, Bayley could see the vibrant hue of her friend's dress. It was breathtaking and it really did fit her perfectly. 

Sasha chuckled quietly and reached up to fix a flyaway strand on Bayley's hair. "I said, you looked like a princess. I like your dress." 

Bayley glanced down at her own prom dress, it was a long blue dress, one that she had reused from Winter Formal from the prior year. "Ah, this old thing? It was just hanging in my closet." Bayley said trying to downplay it. "Your dress is gorgeous though, I love it. Becky looks so dapper, she's really rocking that suit. The other guys better watch out. Becky and you are here to steal everybody's heart." 

Sasha's face heated up and she averted her gaze to the ground. She still wasn't used to how freely Bayley offered up her compliments and affection. "Careful when you tell Becky that, you'll give her an inflated ego, and then she'll be insufferable." Sasha mused.

"As long as she looks out for you, she can have all the ego she wants," Bayley said, waiting for Sasha to look at her before she continued speaking. "You both do look really nice."

"Becky went out of her way to make it nice. She let me pick the outfit colors and she even let me do her hair." Sasha said nodding to where Becky's hair had been put up in a nice bun. "Hunter loaned her his watch, told her it'd make her stand out."

"They really love you." Bayley was feeling more certain now that Sasha had a good foundation, that she wouldn't fall to pieces when Bayley had to leave at the end of the summer. "Do you want to dance?" 

Sasha glanced over, making sure that Becky was still busy and okay, before nodding to Bayley. "Sure, I'd love too. Just I gotta keep an eye on Becky, Stephanie said we need to keep an eye on each other." 

Bayley just chuckled. "That's fine Sash." She took her best friend's hand and lead her to the edge of the dance floor, but close enough that Sasha would still be able to see Becky. 

Sasha laid her head on Bayley's chest, taking a moment to soak it all in. She hadn't thought that she would ever be able to go to prom and a smaller piece of her had thought that she probably would have been dead. Living life on the streets had always been about survival, making it from point a to point b. But now, it felt like she could finally breathe, it felt like she could catch her breath and be still in the moment. 

"Hey, Bayley?" 

Bayley gave a soft hum in response. "Yeah?"

Sasha lifted her head off of Bayley's chest and looked at her best friend in the eyes. "Thank you for never giving up on me? For always fighting for our friendship and me. You saved my life." 

Bayley slowly shook her head. "You saved yourself, Sasha. You have always been strong, I am just glad I could be part of your life. Your friendship has taught me a lot too, has helped shaped the kind of person I want to be." 

A watery smile crossed Sasha's face and she laid her head back on Bayley's shoulder as the band began to play a different song. "I am really proud of you for getting into Penn State." 

"You'll come to visit me?" Bayley asked, trying not to get emotional even though she felt emo.

"Oh without a shadow of a doubt. You won't have your treehouse anymore though." Sasha pointed out. 

Bayley chuckled at that. "Knowing my luck I'll have to sneak you into my dorm." 

"Of course you would, you're such a rebel." Sasha deadpanned sarcastically. 

"You're are going to be fine Sasha. You have got a good group of people around you." Bayley began to hum along to the song, realizing it was 'Stand by me'. "I like this song." 

"Will you sing it to me?" Sasha asked quietly, remembering how during some of the first times she had slept over at Bayley's house, her friend would sing to her to soothe her. 

Bayley gave a breathless laugh. "Anything for you Sasha." She said, singing to her friend quietly. She had a feeling that no matter what life through their way, that they'd be okay. Their friendship was battle-tested and had been put through a lot, but Bayley was confident that they could handle anything as long as they had each other. 

_  
When the night has come  
And the land is dark  
And the moon is the only light we'll see  
No, I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraid  
Just as long as you stand, stand by me_

_And darlin', darlin', stand by me  
Oh, stand by me  
Stand by me, stand by me_

_If the sky that we look upon  
Should tumble and fall  
Or the mountains should crumble to the sea  
I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't shed a tear  
Just as long as you stand, stand by me_

_And darlin', darlin'  
Stand by me, oh stand by me  
Stand by me, stand by me  
And darlin', darlin', stand by me  
Oh, stand by me _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the next chapter will be the final one and serve as the epilogue. I have to tell you that this prom chapter I had it paying out a million different ways. I want Bayley to take Sasha back to the treehouse for their dance, but I just didn't think it would be in character for Sasha to abandon Becky at prom. Their sisterhood-friendship is as important to be as Baysha's. This story really means a lot to me, it reminds me of my best friend from high school. 
> 
> Also listen to Kina Grannis' cover of 'Stand by me' and you will get the feels trust me. Stand by me is such a Baysha song.


	18. Chapter 18: The Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We did it, we finally reached the end of the story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note that this takes place a year in the future, at the end of their senior year.

“You know, I wasn’t sure you were going to make it,” Sasha commented as she stared into the bathroom mirror. It was graduation day and as excited as she was to finally be walking across the stage, she was even happier to see Bayley. 

“I wouldn’t miss your graduation for the world Sasha, you know that,” Bayley replied, moving behind Sasha. She turned her friend around and gave her outfit a quick once-over. “You look nice.” 

“So do you,” Sasha smiled up at her and reached a hand up to play with the now shorter strands of Bayley’s hair. “Nice haircut.” 

Bayley chuckled and shrugged. “You know, I had to look nice. I need to keep up certain impressions and all.” She reached past Sasha and grabbed the girl’s graduation gown off of the hanger. “Are you nervous about your speech?” 

“Not really, I thought I’d spend the rest of high school under the radar, but then I realized I had a voice that needed to be heard.” Sasha allowed Bayley to help her put on the cap and gown. 

“I never doubted that you could be successful Sasha, I always knew you were special. You had this fire inside of you, it just needed to be set free.” Bayley mused, zipping Sasha’s gown up. 

Sasha still sucked at taking compliments, but it meant a lot to her that Bayley had come to see her walk the stage. However, Sasha had a surprise for her best friend. “You believing in me certainly helped stoke the flames. Thank you for never giving up on me Bayley.” 

Tugging Sasha close, Bayley hugged her tightly. She had done a lot of reflecting while she was away at college, and Sasha had more than repaid the favor in the past year. There had been times where she had doubted herself on if she was making the right choice taking early admittance, but Sasha always told her to never give up. It was Sasha’s pep talks and little care packages that helped Bayley get through the first few months of being homesick. 

It had been far too long since she had actually got to see Sasha in person. Her best friend had come to visit her at Penn State for a weekend in February, and then Bayley had surprised Sasha at her senior prom in mid-March, but now it was the beginning of June and it felt like a lifetime ago. They had both been busy with midterms and finals, so they hadn’t even really had much time to text like they usually did.

Sasha allowed the hug and buried her face into Bayley’s shoulder. “I missed you Bay.” 

“I missed you too,” Bayley admitted, squeezing her tighter. 

“Gosh, I didn’t know I was missing out on a hugging party, should I be offended I wasn’t invited?” Becky questioned as she walked into the bathroom. She was already dressed in a cap and gown, but she carried another one. 

“What’s that?” Bayley asked curiously. 

“Well our new Student Body President, decided that we should honor our previous one by letting her walk the stage,” Becky said handing Bayley the cap and gown. 

Sasha chuckled quietly. “Yes, yes all hail President Becky Lynch. I’ll have you know that as vice president I took great care in making sure your parents and your Abuelita would be here too. You deserve to walk stage Bay.” 

Bayley was both touched and stunned by the gesture. She looked at the cap and gown and felt tears starting to well up in her eyes. “You did this for me?” 

“It was Becky’s idea,” Sasha said, shrugging. By the surprised look on Becky’s face, it was clear that Sasha wasn’t telling the whole truth, but Bayley let it slide. It meant a lot that the duo wanted her to walk across the stage with them. 

Sasha shifted her weight nervously from foot to foot. “Plus, I kind of need you in the front row. It’ll make me less nervous when I have to give my speech.” 

Bayley took Sasha’s hand and smiled. “I’ll be right there, smiling up at you,” Bayley promised reassuringly. There was a better word to describe how she felt than the word proud. She had watched Sasha struggle but now she was ready to see Sasha soar and succeed. 

Sasha gently squeezed Bayley’s hand and then dropped a kiss on her knuckles. “I have to get out there, but you can walk with Becky. I am glad you’re here Bayley.” Sasha said, before leaving the bathroom. She had a few last-minute things to go over for her speech. 

\------

Sasha was feeling nervous as she stepped to the podium to give her speech. Talking in front of crowds still made her nervous and it took a lot out her to remain planted. She glanced out to the audience of parents, family, and friends, her eyes roaming over where Stephanie stood right next to Bayley's Abuelita. Hunter was of course sitting next to Trevor and holding up a massive GoPro so that he could take a video of her speech. It was almost embarrassing because her sisters were all wearing shirts with Becky and Sasha's faces on them. Stephanie had allowed it because it was their way of showing support. 

Slowly she swung her gaze out over her highschool peers, letting her face roam over Becky. The loud-mouthed, Irish soccer player, who looked handsome in a suit, but was also the sister she had needed. Finally, her gaze landed on Bayley and as promised, her best friend was sitting front row, giving her the warmest smile she could. It was Bayley's face that she focused on as she cleared her throat to begin her speech. 

"Almost two years ago, if you would have asked me if I thought I'd be graduating high school, I would have told you that I hoped so. Many of you may not know this, but I spent the first two years of high school homeless and living on the streets. I was so desperate to just make it through to the next day because I wanted to be strong enough to protect my brother." Sasha gripped the edge of the podium, her thoughts back to those days. She knew it was important to work through it because her story wasn't meant to end on a sad note. 

"Emily McDowell once said that 'Finding yourself is not really how it works. You aren't a ten-dollar bill in last winter's coat pocket. You are also not lost. Your true self is right there, buried under the cultural conditioning, other people's opinions, and inaccurate conclusions you drew as a kid that became your beliefs about who you are. Finding yourself is actually returning to yourself. An unlearning, an excavation, a remembering of who you were before the world got its hands on you.' There's a reason that the quote speaks to me. I thought I had to find myself, that I had to squish myself down to be what other people thought I should be, but then I met a friend who reminded me that I was more than just a homeless kid on the streets. That there was so much I had to offer the world and that I didn't need to close down on myself." 

Sasha had locked eyes with Bayley now, both of them communicating without really having to vocalize their conversation. Bayley gave her a simple nod and gestured for her to keep going. A chuckle escaped Sasha and she rolled her eyes, somehow Bayley always found a way to break the tension even in the big moments. 

"Gosh, let me tell you about my friend. This crazy girl fought through all the walls that I put up, took me into her home, and helped me find a family. When nobody else wanted me, when nobody else was on my side, she was. She even threw a pudding cup for me multiple times and she was one of the first people to encourage me to apply for as many colleges as I could. It's easy to say that she saved me, but she'd tell you herself that she didn't. What she did was remind me that I could save myself, that I was a complete person on my own, and that I needed to remember who I was, before the world got its hands on me. So thank you, Bayley, you have made my life richer. I am not sure what I would do without you or your Abuleita's cookies." 

"To my sister Becky, if Bayley is crazy, you're borderline insane. But I wouldn't have you any other way. You are the most competitive, driven, funny, and selfless person I have ever met. You made this last year of high school fun and enjoyable. We started at the bottom Bex, but we ended up here. Y'all my sister got a full-ride soccer scholarship to the University of North Carolina. She's the man, and honestly, if you've seen her in a suit, you'll know she probably pulls it off better than most. To my little sisters and my brother, you guys were the reason I kept pushing myself when I didn't feel like studying. You reminded me of what I was fighting for and the person I was trying to be. So thank you." 

"To my foster parents, thank you for giving me a home, for giving me a foundation in which I could plant myself and prosper. For the countless hugs, pep talks, and family bonding nights watching wrestling. You showed me what a real family could be, that it didn't matter how crazy life got, we could always come home. You helped shape me and I will never be able to thank you enough. You pushed me to excel and I'm proud to tell you and Bayley that I got into Penn State. I'm going to Law School." 

"Finally to the graduating class. I'll keep it short, we all worked our butts off. We studied, we cried, we failed and we succeeded. It was one heck of a ride. I thought I'd get through high school without forming attachments, that life would be better flying under the radar. But in the past two years, I've realized that life is a lot better with friends. Friends who take you as you are, and encourage you to be the best you can be. Friends who stand by you. So now, let's go change the world!" 

With that, Sasha smiled and dropped the microphone to the podium. She was ready to start living the rest of her life now, especially now that she and Bayley were going to be reunited at Penn State. Many people would have assumed that Sasha Banks was not the type of person to spend a Friday evening at a public library. They would have been wrong of course, because on that particular Friday evening, the public library was holding an ice cream party for the recent graduates. With Bayley and Becky by her side, Sasha couldn't think of a better way to celebrate. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say a big thank you for everybody who stuck with me and cared about the story. You all mean a lot to me and I appreciate the love and support.

**Author's Note:**

> So I had this idea of Baysha as childhood friends, the ultimate brotp growing pains type of story. But then it evolved into this beautiful mess of a story and the words just flowed right out of me. I was thinking it was just going to be a one-shot but if enough people are interested I am willing to continue it. 
> 
> The title for this story is from the song 'Take me as you please' by the band The Story So Far. You should give the song a listen, it really describes them. 
> 
> Please leave kudos, subscribe, book mark, leave comments. I want to know if I should continue it or not.


End file.
